What to read if after the series "Chernobyl" there are questions

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Real stories about the explosions at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the liquidation of the consequences of the accident and the people who were there in April 1986.

1. "Chernobyl Prayer: Chronicle of the Future", Svetlana Aleksievich

Svetlana Aleksievich, Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature, spoke with several dozen unwitting witnesses of the tragedy. Her book consists of monologues by firefighters, doctors, liquidators of the consequences of the accident and relatives of those who died.

Aleksievich gives a chance to speak out to everyone whose life is divided into two parts - before and after the tragedy. The writer seems to put together a picture from small pieces, including in it both the most terrible moments - fear, pain, betrayal - and that beautiful that cannot be destroyed - love, devotion and honor.

2. "Chernobyl, Pripyat, further Nowhere …", Artur Shigapov

Artur Shigapov is a compiler of book guides to popular travel destinations such as Bali and Thailand. But "Chernobyl, Pripyat, then Nowhere …" is rather an anti-guide, telling about a place where you should not go.

The book opens with a historical background about nuclear power plants, the consequences of explosions and evacuation. Further, the author describes his journey through the abandoned area with all the details. He shares how he got on an excursion to the exclusion zone, what he needed for this and who he turned to. The book is illustrated with author's photographs that reflect the current reality of Chernobyl.

3. "Passion for Chernobyl", Vladimir Gubarev

Journalist Vladimir Gubarev was at the scene of the accident a few hours after the explosions. Then people still little understood what a terrible catastrophe happened and how long and destructive its consequences would be.

In 2011, Gubarev published a book in which he collected stories, explanatory notes, reports and other documents. Some materials were collected in hot pursuit, just a week after the explosion. Gubarev conducted an interview even 20 years after the accident. Thus, he restores the chronology of events through the eyes of eyewitnesses, supplying it with personal notes and comments, because he also visited there and he has something to say.

4. “Living force. Liquidator's Diary ", Sergei Mirny

The book begins with the text of the agenda that was sent to the author. It indicated where, at what time, with what and for what to appear at the district military registration and enlistment office. This is how the story of Sergei Mirny and his comrades began, who were sent to eliminate the consequences of the explosion a couple of months after the disaster at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl.

The author is a chemist and radiation specialist who lectures around the world. Mirny included technical details in the book, but still focused on people, their stories and struggles.

5. "Black and White Chernobyl", Evgeniy Oryol

A couple of months before the accident, in February 1986, a young specialist in the financial department, Evgeny Orel, moved from Chernobyl to Pripyat. He calmed his worried mother with the words:

“I read that according to the theory of probability, the possibility of an accident at a nuclear power plant is once in a hundred years!”

And he went to conquer the career ladder. This was followed by a series of explosions, disaster and evacuation.

Eagle tells his story about Pripyat. It does not contain descriptions of reactors and engineering calculations. It is about the mood of people, fear, moments when nothing is clear, and about the fact that for ordinary citizens a peaceful life is left behind.

6. "Nuclear Tan" (collection), Grigory Medvedev

Nuclear engineer Medvedev participated in the design of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. When the accident happened, he was involved in the elimination of the consequences and was exposed to radiation, which caused the formation of a cancerous tumor.

His documentary stories are valuable not only because of the accuracy of the details. Medvedev is not afraid to show the flaws and mistakes that were made both at the time of construction and after the accident. Bureaucratic, technical and engineering miscalculations developed into one of the worst disasters of the last century.

The collection came out after the accident, but the story "The Chernobyl Notebook" included in it was written a couple of years before the disaster. Even then, the author was aware of the real danger due to negligence on many levels. Unfortunately, the tragedy could not be avoided, and Medvedev urges not only not to forget about what happened, but also to draw a serious lesson from this.