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Richard Rhodes

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Nuclear Renewal: Common Sense About Energy Hardcover – January 1, 1993

by Richard Rhodes (Author)

3.6 5 ratings

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The author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb discusses the feasibility of nuclear power in America, arguing that it is the safest, cleanest, and most economical energy source available. 25,000 first printing. $20,000 ad/promo.

Print length

127 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Viking Pr
Publication date

January 1, 1993
Dimensions

5.75 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches
ISBN-10

9780670852079
ISBN-13

978-0670852079
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nuclear power accounts for 75% of France's electrical output. The figure is 27% in Japan, whose nuclear power plants are more efficient and safer than their U.S. counterparts, which generate approximately 20% of the nation's electricity; the Japanese estimate that nuclear power will be their cheapest energy source by 2010. To investigate what went wrong with the U.S. nuclear energy industry, Rhodes ( The Making of the Atomic Bomb ) went to Japan and France to interview energy officials, scientists and safety personnel. He concludes that U.S. manufacturers, government regulators and utilities together produced the current nuclear energy impasse through bad design, neglect of safety issues, gross mismanagement and inexperienced labor. Citing France's highly efficient fuel reprocessing program, Rhodes argues that the technology is available to eliminate the problem of storing tons of unprocessed "spent" fuel. Blaming the Chernobyl disaster on complacency, fatal design flaws and safety violations, he also observes that "no commercial reactor in the United States is designed anything like" Chernobyl. His forceful, challenging polemic is almost certain to revive national debate over the future of nuclear power.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this brief, readable book, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rhodes ( The Making of the Atomic Bomb , LJ 3/1/87; Making Love , LJ 7/92) argues that "nuclear power isn't dead" and that as the "cleanest and safest significant form of energy available... it ought to be supported, not condemned." Noting that the public has often confused nuclear energy with nuclear weapons, he seeks to clear up misconceptions with a concise history of commercial nuclear power in the United States, blaming its setbacks on mismanagement by the utilities, regulatory commissions, and equipment manufacturers ("the truth is that nuclear power was killed, not by its enemies, but by its friends"). Rhodes then analyzes the nuclear programs of Japan and France, proposes potential models for the United States, and examines the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. His final chapter is devoted to the future of nuclear power. While his thesis will be disputed by nuclear opponents, the value of Rhodes's book lies in his making complex ideas easily understandable to lay readers. Recommended.
- Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Rhodes (Making Love, 1992; The Making of the Atomic Bomb, 1987, etc.) turns his talent for historical analysis to the volatile issue of nuclear power, asking: Is it safe? Is it clean? What went wrong with the industry's development in the US? Can it be redesigned and resold to a fearful American public? ``Nuclear power isn't dead,'' Rhodes says. ``It runs France and will soon run Japan.'' The blame for the US industry's troubles goes mostly to strikingly poor management, whose technological ignorance, lack of involvement, and complacency, Rhodes charges, led to extremely uneven performance and profitability among the country's plants--though needlessly ``adversarial'' governmental regulations, rising interest rates, a misinformed antinuclear movement, and disasters like Three Mile Island didn't help. The result is tragic, Rhodes claims, since nuclear power remains the cleanest, most practical source of energy--less damaging to the environment than hydroelectric dams, less polluting than oil, less lethal to humans than coal, and without natural gas's contribution to the greenhouse effect. Examining successful nuclear-power programs in Japan and France, Rhodes notes the benefits gained by centralization of the industry: cooperation between regulators and utilities; incentives for communities who allow construction of plants; and the establishment of a ``nuclear culture'' in which nuclear power isn't treated as ``just another way to boil water'' but as a sophisticated technology requiring highly trained employees, constant vigilance, and a committed, informed management. Rhodes suggests that America can also take advantage of new innovations in reusing ``dirty'' (non-weapons-grade) fuel, shortened toxicity of radioactive waste, and new breeder reactors that are passively safe, low-waste, and economically competitive. ``There are overtones in this development [of nuclear power],'' physicist and statesman J. Robert Oppenheimer commented in 1957, ``... of pride and terror, of mystery and hope.'' Rhodes's thorough presentation helps to quiet these overtones--and to demystify the nuclear-power industry. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0670852074
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking Pr (January 1, 1993)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 127 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780670852079
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0670852079
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,947,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #71,598 in Politics & Government (Books)
- #157,511 in Business & Money (Books)

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Richard Rhodes

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Richard Rhodes is the author of 25 works of history, fiction and letters. He's a Kansas native, a father and grandfather. His book The Making of the Atomic Bomb won a Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction, a National Book Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award. He lectures widely on subjects related to his books, which run the gamut from nuclear history to the story of mad cow disease to a study of how people become violent to a biography of the 19th-century artist John James Audubon. His latest book is Hell and Good Company, about the people and technologies of the Spanish Civil War. His website is www.RichardRhodes.com.

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James S. Koford

it has an excellent safety record

Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2015

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Nuclear energy seems to have fallen into disfavor. In the US, it has an excellent safety record, and is the least environmentally disruptive big energy technology. Rhodes does a good job of describing it, and does not skip over the problems.

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john richard shanebrook

Should old nuclear power plants be buried ?

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2015

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The sad truth is this book does not make sense at all. It tries to defend a failed technology with nonsensical arguments. To his credit, the author favors a public debate on nuclear power in America. Hopefully, this debate will include a discussion on how to dispose of obsolete nuclear power plants, which number in the hundreds across the globe. Will they be buried ? Three mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima await disposal.

One person found this helpful

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Chad M

The strengths and weaknesses of US nuclear energy, and the French-inspired way forward

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2015

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Richard Rhodes' believes the US can emulate France's success with nuclear energy. Through fuel reprocessing, successfully used by France for decades, the US can greatly reduce nuclear waste. By developing the fast breeder reactor, or FBR, the full potential of uranium can be tapped, which is approximately one hundred times greater than current US reactor efficiency. Mr. Rhodes participated in the new documentary film, "Pandora's Promise", which shows the need for FBRs. The second-generation reactors and light water reactors (LWRs) only use the U-235 portion of uranium (and some incidental breeding of U-238 into plutonium, which fissions and provides about one-third of LWR power output). For large scale deployment of nuclear energy, for the G-20 countries, and over the long haul, FBRs will be necessary. As for learning from past errors, Rhodes is correct that better utility-level management is needed. However, he does not emphasize enough that new Generation IV designs can have engineered or inherent safety features, thus minimizing the chance of management errors (a concise description of such a design, the PBMR, is in "Physics for Future Presidents" by Prof. Richard A. Muller, p. 169). China has active, large programs for PBMRs and FBRs, and the DOE in the US also researches a PBMR variant, the PB-AHTR. I'd say the goals of safety through the PBMR and efficiency through the FBR are being well pursued in China, and if "Pandora's Promise" and its academic sources were taken more seriously, the twin goals of safety and efficiency could become major priorities for US and EU energy research. To paraphrase Nobel Laureate Robert Laughlin and a passage from his book "Powering the Future", nuclear energy research will surge forward sooner or later as fossil fuels inevitably become very expensive.

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A. A Slezak

Not enough specific solutions

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2003

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I have read Richard Rhodes other books "The Making of the Atomic Bomb and Dark Sun; both of them are excellent books and should be read by anyone who wants to understand the history of the 20th century. This book was good but I would have like to have known more of the new types of reactors they are making that are inherently safe. He did not even mention TRIGA which is used all over the world. Why can't that be made on a power plant scale.
I thought it was good in the way that it described breeding and why it is necessary so that we don't have to bury wastes for thousands of years. Breeding should be a requirement of the NRC to reduce waste. I would have like to have heard about other fuels that could be used besides uranium.
The book is good in the fact that it teaches you that nuclear power is safe but is also technologically advanced. I would like to see what advances have been made in the last 10 years since this book was written. I think it would be good for the country for the kids in school to see these plants and how they dispose of waste and compare it to other types of fuel processing so that people could know the truth.
I wish it was more specific on how much nuclear fuel we have available and how long it will last like they do with the coal and oil reserves we have. I was glad that the book mention Rickover not many people know what he did for this industry as well as for the Navy. I would recommend reading the latest book on him by Frances Duncan.

One person found this helpful

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Ravi Madhavan

Misunderstood

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2010

A slim and easy read from Richard Rhodes as he departs from the use of nuclear energy as a weapon (Pulitzer prize winning books on the Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs) to powering our ever growing need for electricity. We haven't progressed too much since 1993 when the book was published. Most people still have a negative view on nuclear energy which based on the book is unjustified. His main theme is that mismanagement (Disastrously by the USSR for Chernobyl causing human death and Three Mile Island causing death to the industry rather than humans) in the industry has caused its downfall especially in the US. As a result the risks associated with Nuclear Energy have been magnified considerably when the facts say the risks are less than most of the daily activities we live with. Considering that 20% of the US is powered by Nuclear and there have been no deaths related to it his points are well taken. The book as it is slim is a good starting point for further exploration and the timing is right as it seems the world is warming up to Nuclear - no pun intended.

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Nuclear Renewal: Common Sense About Energy Hardcover – January 1, 1993

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