Scan barcode
A review by amw207
Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy by Serhii Plokhy
5.0
I've been weirdly drawn to Chernobyl ever since I watched the HBO show. And as with all hyper fixations, I had to get my hands on as many books, articles, interviews, etc. as possible. Surprisingly, (or maybe not considering the state of Soviet Union information) there aren't too many written accounts of Chernobyl, at least not all-encompassing. Plokhy's book is one of the first that pops up in a search, alongside Alexievich's "Voices from Chernobyl" (which is next on my list). I'm glad I started with this one, as it fleshes out much of what happens AFTER the events of the 26th, and much further than the events encompassed in the HBO series. The series focuses more on Legasov and Scherbina, so it's interesting to see all the other numerous players involved. There are A LOT.
I'd highly recommend this to anyone who wants an overall look at the problems that led to Chernobyl and its subsequent "fallout." Plokhy's writing is very engaging and easy to understand, even though nuclear power is anything but simple. Even nuclear physicists have trouble understanding what on earth is going on most of the time. But in layman's terms, it's not that difficult to understand that the people in charge of the Chernobyl facility had no idea how powerful it was. Can't wait to delve more into the anecdotal side of the story.
I'd highly recommend this to anyone who wants an overall look at the problems that led to Chernobyl and its subsequent "fallout." Plokhy's writing is very engaging and easy to understand, even though nuclear power is anything but simple. Even nuclear physicists have trouble understanding what on earth is going on most of the time. But in layman's terms, it's not that difficult to understand that the people in charge of the Chernobyl facility had no idea how powerful it was. Can't wait to delve more into the anecdotal side of the story.