Midnight in Chernobyl :The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster
Midnight in Chernobyl :The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster
paperback
Published:
31 October, 2019
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Description
THE PHENOMENAL GLOBAL BESTSELLER.
'Superb, enthralling and necessarily terrifying . . . every step feels spring-loaded with tension... extraordinary.'
THE NEW YORK TIMES
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The story of Chernobyl is more complex, more human, and more terrifying than the Soviet myth. Adam Higginbotham has written a harrowing and compelling narrative which brings the 1986 disaster to life through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed it first-hand.
Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than ten years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs, and documents from recently-declassified archives, this book makes for a masterful non-fiction thriller.
Chernobyl has become lodged in the collective nightmares of the world: shorthand for the spectral horrors of radiation poisoning, for a dangerous technology slipping its leash, for ecological fragility, and for what can happen when a dishonest and careless state endangers not only its own citizens, but all of humanity. It is a story that has long remained in dispute, clouded from the beginning in secrecy, propaganda, and misinformation.
Midnight In Chernobyl is an indelible portrait of history's worst nuclear disaster, of human resilience and ingenuity and the lessons learned when mankind seeks to bend the natural world to his will - lessons which, in the face of climate change and other threats - remain not just vital but necessary.
Now, Higginbotham brings us closer to the truth behind this colossal tragedy.
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'Tells the story of the disaster and its gruesome aftermath with thriller-like flair . . . wonderful and chilling ... written with skill and passion.'
THE OBSERVER
'An invaluable contribution to history.'
SERHII PLOKHY, EVENING STANDARD
A New York Times Best Book of the Year
A Time Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year
Longlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize
2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Winner
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9780552172899 |
| ISBN10 | 0552172898 |
| Number Of Pages | 560 |
| Item Weight | 408 g |
| Product Dimensions | 129 x 198 x 38 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Transworld Publishers Ltd |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
Superb, enthralling and necessarily terrifying . . . the accident unfurls with a horrible inevitability. Weaving together the experiences of those who were there that night, Higginbotham marshals the details so meticulously that every step feels spring-loaded with tension. . . . Amid so much rich reporting and scrupulous analysis, some major themes emerge. . . . Higginbotham’s extraordinary book is another advance in the long struggle to fill in some of the gaps, bringing much of what was hidden into the light. * New York Times *
An invaluable contribution to history... tells a compelling story exceptionally well. -- Serhii Plokhy * Evening Standard *
Reads like a thriller: forensic, compelling and utterly terrifying. * Mail on Sunday *
Higginbotham tells the story of the disaster and its gruesome aftermath with thriller-like flair. Midnight in Chernobyl is wonderful and chilling ... written with skill and passion. A tale of hubris and doomed ambition. * The Observer *
Adam Higginbotham uses all of the techniques of the top-notch longform journalist to full effect. He swoops us into the heart of the catastrophe. * The Guardian *
GoodReads Reviews
Author's Bio
Adam Higginbotham has written for magazines including The New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, Wired and Smithsonian. He is also the author of Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, which was awarded the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction. He lives in New York City.