A good book about the Chernobyl nuclear accident, however because it is dated and not current, the story was a slow go. Filled with interesting tidbits, it was worth the read.

But, as one who has read a lot about this tragedy, this book cannot compare highly to the others.

5037. Ablaze The Story of the Heroes and Victims of Chernobyl, by Piers Paul Read (read 25 Jun 2013) This book was published in 1993, seven years after the dire event on April 26, 1986, and so has some perspective but probably a newer book would give a better picture of the long term effect of the event. The part of the book telling of the events of April 26 and the time immediately thereafter is full of excitement and is good reading. Then the book tells of the investigations and coverups and tends to be of less interest. (On page 110 of the book the author tells he talked to a man who "had read in a Soviet newspaper that after the accident at Three Mile Island, the evacuation had taken five days and that 87 people had died in the rush." But whether this was true or false is not told, and I think Read should have told us whether it was false or not.) The author believes Chernobyl played a role in the fall of the Soviet Empire, and he is no doubt right. I would like to read a good book on Russia since 1991. Does anybody know of a book which tells how much has changed since that time and how much has not? If so, I hope he or she will tell me of such a book. ( )

Fascinating. The human story. A little hard to follow in places, though, because it bounced around in time. ( )