A short,very readable travelogue. Readable, because well, there's no substance, no content. Our smug reporter takes a trip to the areas around the reactor, years after the incident (when surely there must be tons of data and research material by then, no?), and has so very little to say about it. ( )

I'm usually not harsh when reviewing a book. Realizing that reviews are subjective, I'll state upfront that I have an aversion to selfishness and arrogance.

It wasn't until 3/4 of the book when facts began to appear regarding the horrific meltdown of the Chernobyl reactor number 4. Most of this book seems to be written tongue in check with an arrogance that I'm sure the Russian people did not appreciate.

The author appeared to be judging the culture harshly. Case in point -- he seemed to brag about his totally rude behavior throughout a good bye party held for him by people who went out of their way to help him navigate through a country wherein he didn't bother to even try to know the language before taking it upon himself to give an accounting of an accident that required more than snarky descriptions.

Though, he did admit to tears when visiting a facility for children whose bodies were cancer ridden as a result of radiation from the meltdown. Other than that, while acknowledging that meals were prepared for him when food was not readily obtained, again he seems to put nose and pinkies in the air, acting like a spoiled college brat when in fact he was indeed a rude adult author.

There could have been less of him, and more of the Russians who continue to this day to go through bloody hell as a result of sheer incompetency of performing a test while shutting down all back up modes that might have ended the travesty of Chernobyl.

No stars for this author.

I've read many books on the subject of the Chernobyl accident, and I've seen references to this title pop up every now and then. It only seemed natural for me to read it.

With a couple of exceptions, this book is a complete waste of time.

This book's main offense is the author, who seems to be completely unable or unwilling to write from a neutral point of view. Having written many general-interest books and articles on the dangers of nuclear power, nuclear testing, and nuclear proliferation, Glen Alan Cheney pounces on every opportunity to throw in a gratuitous attack on every subject dealing with nuclear industry. While Chernobyl was a catastrophic event, florid descriptions of the world's plight on every other page are unnecessary, and insulting to the reader's intelligence.
Perhaps even worse is Cheney's attitude to his host country and its populace. Every description of a place, person, or action is seasoned with a snide remark, thrown in for no apparent reason other than to add further despair and misery to his narrative. Most telling is the fact that the author is completely unwilling to even attempt to learn the local language, and is proud of it! In this, Cheney is the stereotypical "American tourist."
Lastly, Cheney travels to Ukraine more than seven years after the disaster with a complete ignorance of the events that occurred, the medical and ecological consequences of the radioactive fallout, the government's response to the accident, or really anything pertaining to Chernobyl. One does not have to read between the lines to detect this ignorance; his words say exactly that - in black and white - right in the first chapter. Personally, I prefer to read books written by people who are smarter and more knowledgeable than me on the given subject.

The above reasons cause one to lose all confidence in the author's objectivity, which can make the actual information contained in the book untrustworthy. In general terms, his stories are consistent with information available from other sources, so I have no reason to doubt the broad strokes of Cheney's narrative. However, any specific information present in the book is not given from a position of authority and becomes utterly worthless for the purposes of research.

Not recommended. ( )