The Legacy of Chernobyl

The book was a fast read. I found the information fascinating, but the author suddenly was throwing numbers at me that I didn't quite understand. My main reason for the purchase of this book was the info for a play. The info was clear and easy to understand, (except for the numbers I.E. 40 Ci/km and 2 just above the m, the equivalent of 1,500,000Bq/m with the number 2 above the m. I guess that means to the second power) Anyway I reccommend THE LEGACY OF CHERNOBYL BY Zhores Medvedev if anyone is interested in what happened at Chernobyl. This book helped me to write the one-act play "CHERNOBYL."

This book takes you right into the Chernobyl disaster. From the bungling government and perverse incentives placed on the nuclear engineer teams which made it a disaster just waiting to happen, to the clean up, evacuation (largely also botched) and health effects of the nuclear fallout. It is amazingly detailed. The author even discusses wind patterns during the disaster which effected what areas were worst effected by what radioactive material (as the disaster progressed the wind AND the composition of the radioactive dust changed). I can honestly say that I was never really bored even though it gets technical in places. The author's writing style actually makes a reader feel that they are there when the Reactor explodes... not to mention (for one example out of many)sharing frustration at the government's incompetence when they delay an evacuation for half a day thereby increasing the populations poisoning over ten-fold. Highly Recommended.