{"product_id":"9781501134630","title":"Midnight in Chernobyl : The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eMidnight in Chernobyl\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Adam Higginbotham\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eReviews\u003c\/i\u003e Best Nonfiction Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Winner\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom journalist Adam Higginbotham, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling “account that reads almost like the script for a movie” (\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal)—\u003c\/i\u003ea powerful investigation into Chernobyl and how propaganda, secrecy, and myth have obscured the true story of one of the history’s worst nuclear disasters.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEarly in the morning of April 26, 1986, Reactor Number Four of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station exploded, triggering one of the twentieth century’s greatest disasters. In the thirty years since then, 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 its citizens and the entire world. But the real story of the accident, clouded from the beginning by secrecy, propaganda, and misinformation, has long remained in dispute.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eDrawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than ten years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs, and documents from recently-declassified archives, Adam Higginbotham brings the disaster to life through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed it firsthand. The result is a “riveting, deeply reported reconstruction” (\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e) and a definitive account of an event that changed history: a story that is more complex, more human, and more terrifying than the Soviet myth.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“The most complete and compelling history yet” (\u003ci\u003eThe Christian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e), Higginbotham’s “superb, enthralling, and necessarily terrifying...extraordinary” (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e) book is an indelible portrait of 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\" 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.\"\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Jennifer Szalai, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A compelling, panoramic account.\"\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Christian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “An account that reads almost like the script for a movie . . . Mr. Higginbotham has captured the terrible drama.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMidnight in Chernobyl\u003c\/i\u003e is top-notch historical narrative: a tense, fast-paced, engrossing, and revelatory product of more than a decade of research. . . . A stunningly detailed account . . . For all its wealth of information, the work never becomes overwhelming or difficult to follow. Higginbotham humanizes the tale, maintaining a focus on the people involved and the choices, both heroic and not, they made in unimaginable circumstances. This is an essential human tale with global consequences.\"\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, Starred Review \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Written with authority, this superb book reads like a classic disaster story and reveals a Soviet empire on the brink. . . . [A] vivid and exhaustive account.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003c\/i\u003e, Starred Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This is a highly detailed, carefully documented, beautifully narrated telling of this breathtakingly complex accident and its mitigation. Higginbotham’s handling of the sociopolitical context is also deft.\" \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Nature\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In fascinating detail, Higginbotham chronicles how the drama played out, showing that Soviet hubris in part led to the accident and Soviet secrecy compounded it.\" —\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNewsday\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMidnight in Chernobyl\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eis wonderful and chilling. . . . Adam Higginbotham tells the story of the disaster and its gruesome aftermath with thriller-like flair. . . . It is a tale of hubris and doomed ambition, featuring Communist party bosses and hapless engineers, victims and villains, confusion and cover-up.\" \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"More harrowing than any horror movie and more gripping than any thriller. . . Higginbotham creates a history book with the headlong pacing of fiction. . . . Read it to be scared. Read it to be angry. Read it because Higginbotham is a great writer in total control of his material. Just read it. This book will haunt you forever.\" \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Oklahoman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Highly readable . . . Higginbotham [is] a skilled science writer. . . . Mr. Higginbotham’s book reflects extensive on-the-scene research. . . . Disaster was inevitable, and Mr. Higginbotham vividly describes the futile attempts of engineers to bring a runaway reactor under control.\" \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—The Washington Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The book reads like an adventure novel, but it’s a richly researched non-fiction work by a brilliant storyteller. . . . Get and read this gripping account to understand why people are still so afraid of nuclear power.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSkeptic Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e's Science Salon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Higginbotham’s scrupulously reported book catalogues the chain of events that occasionally reads as stranger than fiction. The book is more than a gripping history that recounts in great detail events at the reactors; it also offers contextual insights into the Soviet era that help to explain how such a failure could occur. . . . As is the case with many great nonfiction books, it has the urgency and intrigue of the very best thrillers.”  \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eWired\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Adam Higginbotham's brilliantly well-written \u003ci\u003eMidnight In Chernobyl \u003c\/i\u003edraws on new sources and original research to illuminate the true story of one of history’s greatest technological failures—and, along with it, the bewildering reality of everyday life during the final years of the Soviet Union.”\u003cb\u003e— Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eGulag: A History\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRed Famine: Stalin’s War On Ukraine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A masterpiece of reporting and storytelling that puts us on the ground for one of the most important events of the twentieth century. Adam Higginbotham opens a world nearly impossible to penetrate, then finds truths inside we weren’t supposed to discover. As readers, we could not hope for a more thrilling and visceral adventure. As citizens of the world, we ignore \u003ci\u003eMidnight in Chernobyl\u003c\/i\u003e at our peril.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003eRobert Kurson, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eShadow Divers\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRocket Men\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Here is a triumph of investigative reportage, exquisite science writing, and heart-pounding storytelling. With \u003ci\u003eMidnight in Chernobyl\u003c\/i\u003e, Adam Higginbotham gives us a glimpse of Armageddon, but carries it off with such narrative verve that he somehow makes it \u003ci\u003eentertaining\u003c\/i\u003e. One thing is assured: After reading this astonishing, terrifying book, you will never think of nuclear power in quite the same way again.” \u003cb\u003e—Hampton Sides, author of \u003ci\u003eIn the Kingdom of Ice\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eOn Desperate Ground\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781501134630\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40953385877710,"sku":"9781501134630","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/O_4c430dc2-cf23-4885-9546-2712dc3d62fb.jpg?v=1646255041","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781501134630","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}