Midnight in Chernobyl: The Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster

Written by Adam Higginbotham

Narrated by Jacques Roy

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Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than ten years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs, and documents from recently-declassified archives, Adam Higginbotham brings the disaster to life through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Feb 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781508278511

Adam Higginbotham

Adam Higginbotham has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Wired, GQ, and Smithsonian. He is the author of Midnight in Chernobyl, which was the winner of the William E. Colby Award and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, and Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space. He lives with his family in New York City.

[RC · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very thorough. Humanizes the actors while presenting the technical details effectivly. Starts from the very beginning of the origin of the RBMK reactor & the development of the site. The narrator also does an excellent job.

[Penny Chelf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really thorough. Gave depth & personality to the many people involved. Follows from before the reactor was built to the current (as of writing) situation of people, places, etc.

[Melanie Cornelius · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Superb account of what happened at Chernobyl and it’s effect on the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, and how its effects reverberates today throughout the world. Well written and insightful, echoing the revelatory work or Sinclair Lewis. Not to be missed!

[James Hackett · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing book a must read for those who wish to learn about this event

[Lucy Halteman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Unbelievable... Riveting... Tragic... This piece of nonfiction masterfully weaves the history, science, politics, and humanity of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

[April Davis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A powerful, well written novel about the world’s worst nuclear disaster!

[Krystal · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book and the narration was good. Recommend this one.

[Norbert Condoros · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very interesting book. I highly recommend it. Read it after watching the HBO miniseries!

[Rachel Grant · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very thorough account of the accident at Chernobyl. Writing was a bit dry at times, but that could also have been due to the monotone narrator. Would recommend.

[Vanessa Benefield · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was very well written! A lot of facts and very eye opening!

[Beth Culp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really heavy read that was so well narrated and researched. The disaster at Chernobyl taught us so many lessons about what happens when we do not fully understand nuclear power, yet there's still so far to go.
I think I would have liked to see some of the more technical information in the first two chapters broken up within the following chapters of the actual events. Might have made it more accessible cause it was a little bit slow to start.

[Katherine Crivello · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent narration and amazing story! Even if you aren’t a history buff, this book is still engaging and exciting!

[susie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fascinating on multiple levels -the science behind the radiation, the USSR government structure and the personal stories.

[Angie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book inspired the HBO series Chernobyl and it really fleshes out the story. Really engaging listen.

[Stella Simone · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great historical account, gives accurate reviews backed up by different sources of information.

[Daniel Fanizza · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well-written book that I really enjoyed. Better then the tv series.

[Andrea K. · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Could've been cut by about half... not as engaging as I would've liked.

[firetender · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A superb journalistic account coming from an exhaustive, detailed investigation of events.