Midnight in Chernobyl provides a detailed account of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that occurred in April 1986 and its aftermath.

I thought the author did a great job of providing enough information the events leading up to the disaster, including the problems with building the nuclear plant, which were largely due to the Soviet Union hiring individuals that were unqualified to build and manage the plant. Though the individuals who were hired had various science degrees, none were really qualified to build a nuclear plant and it became evident that the plans for the plant were faulty to begin with.

The author also provides some historical insight into cover-ups by the Soviet Union of other nuclear ‘mishaps’ that were responsible for taking some lives but small enough that the world at large did not find out about them. This information is necessary for the reader to understand the context of how widespread mismanagement actually was at the time. The Soviet Union was trying to compete with the US in generating nuclear plants and becoming a strong force in the world and this meant taking shortcuts and then covering up after something went wrong.

The book provides a linear narrative of how the Chernobyl disaster occurred, as well as the 6 month long containment efforts in which thousands of Soviet soldiers and civilians were forced to do dangerous labour around the nuclear plant to contain the radiation. The building of the ‘sarcophagus’ around Reactor #4 (the one that exploded) was a necessary but incredibly dangerous endeavour. The men who were sent there to clean up and build the sarcophagus went largely undocumented and unaccounted for when the Soviet Union accounted for the casualties from the disaster.

Overall, I thought that the book was a fascinating read. I feel connected to the Chernobyl story in a way because I was born in Poland in April 1985, one year prior to the explosion of Reactor #4. One one hand, I feel lucky that my family has not felt the effects of the disaster but on the other hand, it worries me to think that we are more predisposed to cancer because of the cloud of radiation that went across some regions in Europe after Reactor exploded.

Yet we were far enough to be relatively safe from immediate radiation. The hundreds of thousands of families that were closer to the impact (especially those in Belarus) have suffered through many painful physical and mental conditions since the disaster and have had little to no recourse from the parties responsible.

I received an uncorrected proof copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, however, I ended up listening to a finished copy on Overdrive.

I literally read this book with a feeling of dread the entire time.

Extremely well researched, the author almost writes this as a book of fiction, describing the characters well, their actions and thoughts (and fears!!!!).

This book was chilling and I learned quite a few things I did not know. The whole desolate incident, which would ruin so many.....chilling.

Extremely well written and absolutely engrossing.

4.5 stars. The author has written an impressive, comprehensive book of historical importance. It brings to light events surrounding the Chernobyl catastrophe of 1986 which may be unknown to many in the Western world, and even to the Russian people. The author presents a crash course in nuclear physics and energy, simplified as much as possible. This may present difficulties for the average reader without some background knowledge. I thought the human factor surrounding the disaster to be interesting and appreciated that the book included a summary list of the Cast of Characters and their positions and involvement with Chernobyl.

The book emphasized the social/political Cold War mentality, economic factors, technical failures, the cut-throat ambition of the politicians and their secrecy which led to public complacency or wild rumors. Reaction time was slow due to uncertainty and arguments about the best course of action. I feel this is the definitive book of situations leading up to the disaster, what happened when Reactor 4 malfunctioned causing a huge surge of radiation, and its aftermath. The history is impeccable and thoroughly researched and stands as a sample for other writers of historical events and will be the definitive book on Chernobyl.

The Chernobyl atomic complex was built to produce cheap electricity for a vast surrounded area, and to establish the Soviet Union ’s predominance in nuclear power. The disaster occurred in Reactor #4 on April 26, 1986.

A model town, Pripyat, was built in the wilderness area close to the Nuclear Plant to house tens of thousands of workers and their families. From rough, cold shacks inhabited by the early builders, it grew into an impressive town with 3 schools, 35 playgrounds, 3 swimming pools, a library, sports facility, and a shopping center. Groceries and goods in the stores were more varied and abundant than in cities of origin of most of the workers. No expense was spared in planting trees and importing flowering shrubs to enhance the blocks of apartments.

The nuclear accident which occurred resulted in a coverup where plant workers and women and children were not aware of the danger to their lives and health from nuclear fallout.there were cultural and political reasons contributing to lack of safety. Poor building design, shoddy materials, forced deadlines for builders and plant workers to meet, incompetent and negligent staff without knowledge of dangers they faced. There had been a smaller explosion at another plant and plenty of malfunctions but they were ignorant of possible critical problems.

After the reactor imploded and seemed to be going into meltdown, releasing radiation far and wide, members of the emergency response team who did know the peril were either forced to stop the leak or went in willingly out of patriotic duty.

Following the disaster, people of Pripyat went about their lives ignorant of dangers from radioactive fallout. During this time a gathering of academics, Generals, and politicians argued about the course they needed to take but were mainly concerned with secrecy. Finally, it was decided to evacuate the town of 51,000 people but leaving behind 4,000 essential service workers. People being evacuated were led to believe that they would only be away from home a couple of days and to bring only essentials for a short stay.

Immediately after the explosion, there were two deaths of reactor workers.
28 died soon of acute radiation sickness.. Evacuation orders soon included 90,000 people within a 30 K radius. High radiation levels soon spread to areas distant from Chernobyl and were detected in Sweden, Belarus, and Poland. By May 20, 95,000 people had been hospitalized.

High levels of radioactivity had already reached the capital, Kiev. May Day celebrations were carried out in the open air. Soon over 300,000 children were ordered evacuated from Kiev, along with expectant and nursing mothers (about 1/5 of the population). Teams were hired to shoot 20,000 domestic animals left behind.

We will never know how many people died over the years from radiation-induced cancers, as doctors were pressed not to mention a possible connection. Once the danger of a meltdown had eased and the reactor was covered with a dome, it was felt necessary to lay blame. Six plant officials were put on trial resulting in prison sentences. Official statements refused to place blame on faulty building materials, reactor design flaws, or the irresponsibility and poor discipline of the plant workers present when the disaster occurred. They had been conducting a safety inspection to simulate a power failure and did not follow the procedure properly outlined on a checklist.

The author emphasizes the social/political Cold War mentality. The secrecy of generals and politicians which led to wild rumors or complacency subsequently caused the people to distrust in their leaders. Economic factors due to the billions of rubles spent on evacuation, housing, pay for thousands of emergency workers, and the deactivating the reactor was a great financial loss for the country. The author feels this was a major factor contributing to the breakup of the Soviet Union
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this important book.