Atoms and Ashes

A timely and enthralling study of the atomic age and its perils … a meticulously researched history – Lawrence Freedman * Financial Times *A superbly crafted but enormously frightening history of nuclear disasters … without ever preaching, Plokhy constructs a formidable case for consigning nuclear power to the past – Gerard DeGroot * The Times *Plokhy’s gripping, measured accounts of human error and staggering heroism in the face of the terrifying forces of nuclear power get under the skin – Simon Ings * The Telegraph *Frightening … With catastrophic climate change bearing down on us, nuclear power has been promoted by some as an obvious solution, but this sobering history urges us to look hard at that bargain for what it is – Jennifer Szalai * New York Times *A revealing tour of some of the most terrifying experiences involving nuclear power. Plokhy excels in unpacking the human and systemic factors that contribute to nuclear disasters * Nature *Gripping … Plokhy combines newspaper interviews, memoirs, government reports and secondary sources to give a vivid account of the perils of nuclear power * TLS *Expertly concise… this account of the downhill slide of atomic power since its heyday in the 1950s illustrates why it can never be the solution to global heating – Robin McKie * Observer *Absolutely stunning. A formidable achievement. Plokhy has written a six-part historical thriller that is essential reading for both our politicians and the ordinary citizen. We have survived the Nuclear Age for three-quarters of a century, but this book calmly reminds us that accidents happen?and will surely happen again. His stories of nuclear accidents are riveting and frightening – Kai Bird, co-author of American Prometheus

Serhii Plokhy is the author of Chernobyl- History of a Tragedy, which won the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Pushkin House Book Prize, and the New York Times bestseller The Gates of Europe. His many acclaimed books, including The Russo-Ukrainian War, Nuclear Folly and Atoms and Ashes, have been translated into over a dozen languages. He is Professor of History at Harvard University where he also serves as Director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.