Review - 'Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster' by Adam Higginbotham

[Evgeny Velikhov] asked Deputy Minister Silayev to call Gorbachev with a message: "Tell him that our outhouse is overflowing, and they'll have to climb a mountain of shit."

Midnight in Chernobyl is a comprehensive account of the events leading up to and resulting from the meltdown of Reactor Number Four at Chernobyl power station. It details not only the technical failures that led to the meltdown, but also the interpersonal dynamics and prevailing attitudes of secrecy and sycophancy within the USSR governmental structure that contributed to the disaster. It also explores the subsequent confusion around how to contain the nuclear fallout and the monumental efforts by so many firefighters, plant operators, scientists, doctors, and ordinary citizens to undo the damage and save lives.

I went in knowing almost nothing about Chernobyl, and found it absolutely fascinating and eye-opening. The author did a great job building a cohesive narrative out of what must have been hundreds of people's testimonies and a considerable amount of data, likely obscured by secrecy and the passage of time. I found I had no trouble understanding the technical explanations around how the reactor worked and what led to its ultimate meltdown.

One of the things I found most interesting is the book's exploration of the part that cultural and interpersonal dysfunctions played in contributing to and exacerbating the after-effects of the meltdown.

When General Pikalov... forecast the decontamination work would take up to seven years to complete... the hardline Politburo member Yegor Ligachev exploded in fury. He told Pikalov he would have seven months. "And if you haven't done it by then, we'll relieve you of your Party card!" "Esteemed Yegor Kuzmich," the general replied, "if that is the situation, you needn't wait seven months to take my Party card. You can have it now."

There were so many nuggets of gold like this one within the book. The focus on each individual person, and their motivations and emotions, brought them to life on the pages. It turned what could have been a dry nonfiction account into a captivating read.

If you've ever been curious about what happened at Chernobyl, I highly recommend this book. It's accessible to the layman, and contains so many insightful and often inadvertently humorous passages on what went so horribly wrong and the heroic effort to set it right. Especially at this time, when we are all dealing with a viral disaster in the making, it can offer a bit of relief to escape and read about a completely different disaster from the past.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars