Customer Reviews

The Warning: Accident at Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Omen for the Age of Terror

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Very intriguing book about the near disaster at Three Mile Island. Very well written, it keeps you spellbound to the very last period. It explains what went wrong with excellent detail. Enough information to keep you spellbound, but not enough to bore you with unnecessary details. A very well written book. A must if you want to learn the true story about Three Mile Island.

As someone who works at a Nuclear plant, I've had much training on the accident at TMI in much greater detail than provided in this book (although, Gray does do a decent job at explaining how operators responded to that paricular event...he does leave out a lot, however). The best thing about this, for me, was his obvious research with regard to other facilities that had the same problem prior to TMI and the lack of a Nuclear network to help get the word out (we have an extensive network of information sharing now). The character descriptions are excellent and the story does flow like a novel...get this book (if you can find it...it's been out of print for a while) if you want a reasonably close explanation of what occured at TMI, but get it more for the story and the background information.

I started reading this for background on nuclear safety, not expecting it to be an enjoyable read. Not only did I get the information I was hoping for, I really enjoyed the book. The author weaves technical information into the story in a way that is not at all intimidating, and writes of the participants particularly well. I ended up recommending this to several people who have no interest in nuclear tech, or even history, because it is an excellent work regardless of ones interest.

This story DOES read like a novel - I agree with one of the other reviewers. I was only 9 years old when the accident happened, but not long thereafter I bought this book during its first printing. Adding to my fascination to the accident is the fact that I was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and my father was a long-time employee of Met-Ed. My interest in nuclear plants is alive and well, since I now live within 5 miles of one of the largest nuclear plants (in Megawatt producing power) in the United States.

I read it at least 5 times because I found it so fascinating and I loved the characters that Rosen and Gray bring to life, such as plant superintendent Gary Miller and control room operator Bill Zewe. The technical details are explained in easy-to-understand language that makes reading the book a pleasure, not a pain.

I plan on buying this book again to reread it, as my original copy is long lost. But, I enjoyed it the first 5 times I read it, and I'm buying another copy.

If you want a great overall perspective on the America's "Near-Chernobyl," pick up a copy and enjoy.

I would like to have read the book to write a review. Unfortunately it was never delivered, despite de pre-payment.