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Midnight in Chernobyl

The Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster

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Midnight in Chernobyl

Written by: Adam Higginbotham
Narrated by: Jacques Roy
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One of AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of 2019!

A New York Times Best Book of the Year
A Time Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year
2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Winner

From journalist Adam Higginbotham, the New York Times bestselling “account that reads almost like the script for a movie” (The Wall Street Journal)—a powerful investigation into Chernobyl and how propaganda, secrecy, and myth have obscured the true story of one of the history’s worst nuclear disasters.

Early in the morning of April 26, 1986, Reactor Number Four of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station exploded, triggering one of the 20th century’s greatest disasters. In the thirty years since then, Chernobyl has become lodged in the collective nightmares of the world: shorthand for the spectral horrors of radiation poisoning, for a dangerous technology slipping its leash, for ecological fragility, and for what can happen when a dishonest and careless state endangers its citizens and the entire world. But the real story of the accident, clouded from the beginning by secrecy, propaganda, and misinformation, has long remained in dispute.

Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than ten years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs, and documents from recently-declassified archives, Adam Higginbotham brings the disaster to life through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed it firsthand. The result is a “riveting, deeply reported reconstruction” (Los Angeles Times) and a definitive account of an event that changed history: a story that is more complex, more human, and more terrifying than the Soviet myth.

“The most complete and compelling history yet” (The Christian Science Monitor), Higginbotham’s “superb, enthralling, and necessarily terrifying...extraordinary” (The New York Times) book is an indelible portrait of the lessons learned when mankind seeks to bend the natural world to his will—lessons which, in the face of climate change and other threats, remain not just vital but necessary. 20th Century Environment Modern Physics Russia Science Soviet Union Nonfiction Cold War
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What the critics say

"Jacques Roy's nuanced performance of Higginbotham's harrowing audiobook keeps listeners deeply engaged. . . . Roy's masterful narration enhances this stark and terrifying account of one of the worst disasters in human history."
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Hooked right away. Great story, great narration. A must read for everyone , could not get enough.

You need to hear this!

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This book is amazing. It is very detailed and well narrated. The author explains a lot of the scientific terms very well for its readers to comprehend.

One of my favourite books of all time.

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I really enjoyed listening to Midnight in Chernobyl and finished it in about three days. The complete account of the event from first-hand witnesses and various parties involved was eye-opening and had me sucked into the story from start to finish. if you're interested in learning about the events leading up to, during, and after the Chernobyl disaster, I would highly recommend this book.

loved it!

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I really enjoyed it and actually went back to it several times. Jacques Roy's performance is excellent. The technical information needed to understand the issues at stake is given in an easily understandable format. If you watched the series Chernobyl, I would recommend this book as it provides a lot of background information as to how this event turned into a catastrophe of such magnitude.

Excellent account of the disaster

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Interesting look behind the iron curtain. Narration was enjoyable. You understand why the socialist experiment failed!

10/10 def recommend

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