Customer Reviews

Chernobyl Record: The Definitive History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe

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I approached Dr. Mould's book "Chernobyl Record" with some trepidation, as I read some reviews that characterized it as unabashedly pro-nuclear. However, I did not really detect such a bias. Some claim that Mould downplays the effects of radiation, but I don't see how. He uses plenty of data to support his claims, and he hardly glosses over the horrible effects of radiation. But I think I am more apt to believe his claim that Chernobyl was the "greatest psychological disaster in history," in that many of the effects in people outside the exclusion zone and the Kiev area were psychosomatic, tied to their fear of the effects of radiation. I am not trying to downplay Chernobyl's consequences, which are huge, but compared to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, its effects were less in magnitude and scope. However, even if some effects are only psychological, these too are quite sad and often as bad as the physical effects. The accident has led to economic problems in Ukraine, including high unemployment, and the displacement of a large number of people, and these factors all lead to a high rate of depression and alcoholism among many Ukrainians, including the survivors and liquidators.

"Chernobyl Record" provides an excellent inroduction to the Chernobyl accident, explaining all of the necessary terminology on radiation and nuclear reactors. However, it does kind of speed through the accident itself, and for in-depth accounts of the actual accident, one will have to look elsewhere, such as Grigori Medvedev's The Truth About Chernobyl. It is to books such as Medvedev's that one will also have to turn to for a detailed account fo the heroism of many of the firefighters and operators involved in cleaning and containing the accident.

The photos (both in color and black and white) in Mould's book are quite invaluable as well, including many of the interior of the Sarcophagus, the town of Pripyat, and of radiation victims from Chernobyl.

The biggest problem with the book is that Mould concentrates primarily on the aftermath and consequences of the accident. This information is quite helpful and relatively up-to-date (2000), but some of the data on the effects on wildlife and foodstuffs are less interesting than the human aspects of the story. However, concluding with V. Legasov's "Testament" was an excellent way of bringing the human element back into focus.

Overall, then, this book will prove indispensable for anyone interested in Chernobyl. However, as it was published in 2000, it is already outdated, since the effects of Chernobyl continue to be studied and there are plans to bulid another structure over Unit No. 4 and the Sarcophagus. Chernobyl still awaits its definitive history, but it is sad to think that so many people have forgotten Chernobyl. There are several lessons in nuclear safety to be learnt from the accident that can be extracted from this excellent book. Nuclear power is not something to be taken lightly, and this book is a sobering reminder of that fact.

A very informative book, well written.
Amazon delivered it 10 days earlier than promised. Well done!