Title: Midnight in Chernobyl
Author: Adam Higginbotham
Genre: Biography
Summary: Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham focuses on one of the greatest nuclear disasters in history. The disaster that happened in Chernobyl, Ukraine at the Chernobyl power complex on April 26, 1986. The book focuses on the before, during, and aftermath of the Chernobyl explosion. The beginning of the book focuses on the development of the plant and an in-depth look at the construction. This is when we come to find out that the Soviets knew that there were flaws in the design that could possibly lead to malfunctions. Yet, nothing ended up happening and that brings us to April 26, 1986. Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl power complex was in need of a test to make sure that everything was running correctly inside the mechanics of the reactor. This is when the operators made a crucial mistake in the test which caused the reactor to explode. This explosion would send radioactive gasses and materials into the atmosphere and cause them to be spread throughout parts of Europe. Including Belarus, Russia, and current-day Ukraine. The impacts of the explosion would affect the people in a local town called Pripyat and cause everyone to have to abandon their homes because of how radioactive and unstable the area had become. The radioactivity in Chernobyl and the radioactivity in the atmosphere have been linked to environmental impacts, birth defects of humans and animals, and thousands of deaths from cancer. Yet, Russia officially claims there were only 31 deaths because of the explosion. Overall the whole situation lacks a lot of viable information but Adam Higginbotham uncovered the real truths of what happened that fateful Midnight in Chernobyl.
Opinion: I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars for many different reasons. I really liked how in-depth this book was on the topic and it really showed how much research Adam Higginbotham did. I think I would recommend this book to anyone who likes science and/or nuclear power. If I could have changed one thing I would have liked a little more scientific information based on the topic. Specifically on the biological side of things. Besides that, it was an amazing book and a really good read