The Truth About Chernobyl [Paperback]

Grigori Medvedev (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1992

An exciting minute-by-minute account by a leading Soviet nuclear physicist of the world's largest nuclear disaster and coverup--Chernobyl, April 26, 1986. Grigori Medvedev was a chief engineer at Chernobyl during the 1970s. The Truth About Chernobyl won the Los Angeles Times Book Award and was featured on the front page of the New York Times Book Review.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This dramatic, minute-by-minute account of the Chernobyl meltdown and its aftermath provides a detailed analysis of the causes of the disaster at the Soviet power station which became a "gigantic nuclear volcano" in April 1986, spewing out radioactivity. Former deputy chief engineer at Chernobyl, Medvedev cites design flaws that could spell catastrophe for similarly built plants. He also blames the accident on plant operators' faulty decision-making, made worse by flagrant safety violations; arrogant, careless managers; the "sheer insanity" of the plant's administrative system; and negligence at the highest levels of the Soviet energy bureaucracy. Interweaving the jolting testimony of eyewitnesses, participants and victims, this volume is invaluable.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Medvedev, a chief engineer at Chernobyl when it was built in 1970, graphically describes the events leading up to and following the world's worst nuclear accident. Asked to conduct an investigation less than two weeks after the explosion, he interviewed most of the major participants, including many who died within weeks from radiation sickness. In lucid detail and with an insider's understanding, Medvedev describes the human and technical failings that led to the accident and, with enormous compassion, recounts the efforts of firefighters and many of the reactor's operators who gave their lives in the struggle to contain the disaster. An authoritative primary document, this book is also an important rumination on the technological and political hubris that led to this disaster. For another Soviet account, see Zhores Medvedev's The Legacy of Chernobyl , LJ 6/15/90--Ed.
- Jennifer Scarlott, World Policy Inst., New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (July 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465087760
• ISBN-13: 978-0465087761
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > History > Europe > Ukraine

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tragic Detective Story, December 12, 1997

By 

Leon Keylin (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth About Chernobyl (Hardcover)

As the book claims- a minute by minute account of the great tragedy. Being a fan of nuclear psysics this book has taught me a lot not only about physics but of the Russian culture, secretive cover-ups and human suffering. If you want to know everything there is about this Chernobyl and not be bored, then this is the book to get.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing picture of a world disaster, December 18, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Cheney, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth About Chernobyl (Hardcover)

As a native Russian, I want to thank the author, Grigory Medvedev, for a honest and professional overview of Chernobyl disaster. His incredibly deep insight of human characters who were in touch with Chernobyl fire filled my heart with a great sorrow because they paid a high price of their health or lives. The book made me reevaluate my vision of our 20th century where still exists a nuclear power. Who will be the next victim of whose deadly mistake? Who must step in to shield others? What kind goverment promoted Chernobyl?

This book is essential for anybody to read in order to help all nations in organization of a prevention mechanism against such deadly mistakes.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, detailed account of the accident and its cause, September 8, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth About Chernobyl (Paperback)

This book describes the accident and events leading to the accident in great detail. Anyone interested in human factors as they relate to loss prevention should find this book an excellent resource. The accident was caused by a long series of very serious human errors. The author also compares the Chernobyl accident to the Three Mile Island accident. In spite of the difference in design of the two nuclear plants, the sequences of events leading to the two accidents were strikingly similar