Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters: From the Ozark Mountains to Fukushima

by James Mahaffey

A “delightfully astute” and “entertaining” history of the mishaps and meltdowns that have marked the path of scientific progress (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

Radiation: What could go wrong? In short, plenty. From Marie Curie carrying around a vial of radium salt because she liked the pretty blue glow to the large-scale disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima, dating back to the late nineteenth century, nuclear science has had a rich history of innovative exploration and discovery, coupled with mistakes, accidents, and downright disasters.

In this lively book, long-time advocate of continued nuclear research and nuclear energy James Mahaffey looks at each incident in turn and analyzes what happened and why, often discovering where scientists went wrong when analyzing past meltdowns. Every incident, while taking its toll, has led to new understanding of the mighty atom—and the fascinating frontier of science that still holds both incredible risk and great promise.
 

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Audiobook, Physics, Engineering, Technology

352 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Dr. James Mahaffey was senior research scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and has worked at the Defense Nuclear Agency, the National Ground Intelligence Center, and the Air Force Air Logistics Center, focusing on nuclear power, nano-technology, and cold fusion.
(Bio from publisher)

Some of the author's works are published under the James A. Mahaffey or Jim Mahaffey names.

Reviews

[Nick Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

marvelous! each year brings a new body of pop-nuke printed material, most of it rehashed and a good deal of it wrong. the discerning criticality fetishist is lucky to find a single good book among the dreck. last year's was Schlosser's Command and Control. this year we get Atomic Accidents. too much alliteration.

i knew the basic facts about most of the events in this book (though the history of arranged train collisions was news to me, and delightful), but only because i'm a freak who's familiar with things like Los Alamos National Laboratories' Review of Criticality Accidents and has pored over tables detailing genetic damage as a function of 90Sr / 137Cs fallout in Kahn's On Thermonuclear War and has a shelf titled Oppenheimania. despite that, i was regularly surprised by new information, some of it major elements from the history of reactor engineering (this is a better survey of different reactor types than i've seen in most textbooks, and certainly a more entertaining one), some of it details staggering in their nerdiness (did you know the part number for the neutron generator used in the Mk-28 gravity bomb was MC-890A?), some of it personal reflection (thoughts on DASA/DNA/DTRA logos over the years). Mahaffey goes all the way and delivers the goods: most authors might be content to reference the urban legend that the AMF "candlepin" bowling pin spotter was inspired by fuel rod management technology from the Fermi-1, but Mahaffey is there with patent dates and part numbers. there's a lot of oral nuclear tradition and lore that Mahaffey's preserved in one place, previously unavailable or available only by trawling through the American Nuclear Society's unbearable Nuclear News. if you're a fan of David Lochbaum's "Fission Stories" series at All Things Nuclear (and if you're not, then to hell with you), you're gonna be happy.

i'm pretty sure mahaffey never reveals any currently classified information (nota bene: i have never held the Q+SigmaX (DoE) or TS+CNWDI (DoD) clearances necessary for weapon design work), which is understandable, but the weapons junkie will still find some gems. the marvelous qualities of 237Np, for instance, had escaped my attention. the discussion of melt-castable explosives is at least at the level of Agrawal's High Energy Materials. sometimes he's teasing (what are these alleged evidences for a neptunium test, Herr Doktor? and alluding to Fermat's Last Theorem when discussing "secret Japanese uranium-extraction filter materials" in a footnote doesn't fly. for one, fermat was almost certainly bullshitting or at least wrong. two, we can all go read Seko et al's "Aquaculture of Uranium in Seawater". i suspect the good doctor simply lacks confidence regarding amidoxime chemistry), which is annoying. he toes the line regarding initiator design (pretty much entirely classified), though i bet he knows more than he's saying. there's negligible information regarding thermonuclear design, which makes sense given the book's topic.

minor nits: the bibliography is good, but i'd have appreciated inline references, and plenty of details are presented for which i can find no listed source (i've confirmed some of them via literature checks, but a good number require simply trusting Dr. Mahaffey). the photographs are uninspiring, either iconic early 20th century shots everyone's seen or Mahaffey's own color shots. i understand not wanting to license photographs, too, but there's frankly way better pictures of nuclear reactors than these (i dug the selfie among the CRTs of Baxley, Georgia's Hatch plant). finally, dr. mahaffey doesn't quite seem to understand youtube URIs, which is more charming than anything--the man has forgotten more science than most of us will ever know, despite our new-fangled YouTubes.

finally, mahaffey is quite often funny, and always pleasant to read. not many authors could pack this wealth of technical detail into 420 readable pages. mahaffey deploys garrulous, digressive footnotes with all the abundance and profuseness of david foster wallace, and just as in Infinite Jest they're some of the book's best material. mahaffey writes with verve, and--unlike most technical prose--there are few gross lapses in editing. one gets the idea he'd be a good guy to have a beer with, discussing breeder reactors and why Jimmy Carter was a douchebag and pranks one could play on John McPhee.

tl; dr: if you like reading books about controlled fission and its applications, read this. if you don't, you probably won't enjoy it very much. and remember, kids, a day without nuclear fusion is like a day without sunshine!

full disclosure: Dr. Mahaffey graduated my alma mater (Georgia Tech), and we both worked at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, though not at the same time.

[Brahm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Earlier in my career when I had started a new process controls job at a mine site, I said to a colleague, "I want you to show me how to break things and cause problems, so I know exactly what NOT to do."

This book has that spirit: detailed (yet engaging, interesting!) accounts of nuclear disasters from early in the atomic era right up to the Fukushima meltdown. Cautionary tales of past disasters, coupled with how the industry shifted after those disasters to be safer.

I took away lots of new random knowledge and trivia. The big risks associated with meltdowns are not so much the melting fuel in itself, but the fact that water gets super explodey when it flashes instantly to steam due to high heat (big brain meme: a big water tank was installed underneath the reactor vessel at Chernobyl), and that melted zirconium fuel cladding generates explodey hydrogen gas (what happened at Fukushima). Lots of trivia about nuclear weapons and why they don't explode when tapped with a hammer or are accidentally dropped in the United States or Greenland - which has happened!

A surprising number of accidents - including EVERY high-profile disaster (Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima) - involved humans overriding engineered protections, either causing the disaster or making it far worse than it needed to be.

I predict a majority of readers would read this book and feel more comfortable with the safety of power generation from nuclear energy... understanding the "what" and "why" of high-profile (and previously unheard-of) accidents tempers the sensationalism and FUD of dilute news media coverage. The end of the book briefly discusses death and accident rates in nuclear relative to other energy sources (I wish this was a bit more in-depth).

Highly recommended reading for those interested in nuclear. Great, exciting, information-packed read.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one suffers a bit in comparison to his excellent "Atomic Adventures", which I read not long ago:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

So I'll probably get back to it, unless the library calls it back first.....

Nope, someone else wants it.

Looking at my notes: Mahaffey says keeping accidents secret always makes things worse. This was particularly evident in the old USSR, where admitting a mistake could cost you (literally) your life. Or your job, and a free trip to Siberia! Lots of gory details, almost all involving experienced people ignoring safety guidelines because.... Well, because.

Power density: the current fad for solar & wind goes contrary to the trend since the Industrial Rev began, and is unlikely to continue (he says), once people see the costs. As we already have in Calif, and the Germans, and.... The remarkable density of politicians, and stubornness of the so-called Greens, were mentioned. I will add, 'Against stupidity, the Gods themselves rage in vain.'
-- Friedrich von Schiller

Along those lines, we might mention the TX-16/EG-16, a remarkable cryogenic H-bomb built in the mid=1950s. Rated at 11 megatons, it weighed around 82 tons, and would fit (barely) in the bomb bay of a specially modified B-36 "Peacemaker". It was the size of a large Airstream trailer. Five were built. Fortunately, no calls for its use were received.

And mention should be made of a helpful US govt book, published in 1945 for $1.25: "Atomic Energy for Military Purposes". Basically a "how-to" primer, many, many orders were received from the USSR. Many helpful photos were added in the 1946 edition. It went through 8 editions and was published in 40 languages. No mention of the careful reasoning behind this unprecedented show of openness, for what hd been a carefully (if ineffectively) guarded military secret. Remarkable.

3.5 stars, for as far as I read (266 of 426). I might come back to it, in the sweet by & by.

[Graeme Newell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mixed feelings on this book. It dives into the history of nuclear mishaps, covering everything from the big disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima to less famous incidents. While Mahaffey clearly knows his stuff, the book required quite a bit of determination to get through.

On the positive side, Mahaffey does a decent job of breaking down complex nuclear physics into terms that are more digestible for us non-scientists. I could follow the basics of what went wrong in each case, which is saying something given how technical this subject can be.

Plus, the book covers a lot of ground, offering a wide look at various incidents from different countries and time periods. It gives you a sense of just how many things can (and have) gone wrong in the nuclear industry. Spoiler alert: it’s a lot. It’s like Murphy’s Law on steroids.

However, there are quite a few drawbacks. For starters, the level of detail can be at times overwhelming. Mahaffey really gets into the nitty-gritty technical aspects, and it was hard to stay engaged. There were definitely moments where I just skimmed through the dense jargon because it was too much.

The structure of the book was also a bit of an issue. It's laid out chronologically, which makes sense, but it also made the narrative feel disjointed. Jumping from one accident to another without a strong connection can be jarring, and it was hard to keep track of the bigger picture.

I think a more thematic approach might have helped make it feel more cohesive. As it stands, it’s kind of like trying to watch a TV series out of order - you get the gist, but it’s not exactly a smooth experience.

You can tell Mahaffey is passionate about the subject, but the way it’s presented just didn’t pull me in. It’s definitely a book for those who have a deep interest in nuclear technology and can handle the technical depth. For a more casual reader like me, it was tough to get through and not an enjoyable experience.

In the end, "Atomic Accidents" is informative but not exactly a page-turner. If you're really into the details of nuclear accidents or have a background in the field, you might get more out of it. But if you're just looking for an engaging read about the history of nuclear power, this one might be a bit too dense and dry.

[Atila Iamarino · Rating 4 out of 5]

O livro abre anunciando que é uma versão moderna da colisão de trens, aquele acidente que desperta um misto de curiosidade mórbida e admiração pelo tamanho da desgraça. E entrega bem.

Passa pela descoberta de alguns tipos de radiação, dos testes que o Tesla fez, das operárias que molhavam pincéis com rádio na boca, até o desenvolvimento da tecnologia de fissão. Tanto para guerra quanto para a produção de energia.

Foi um livro que me fez ficar contando as histórias para a esposa, de tão curiosas. Achei especialmente marcante os eventos onde misturas com urânio ou plutônio atingiram a massa crítica simplesmente por descuido. Eu não fazia ideia do problema que a estrutura de um recipiente traz. Ah, claro, também tem os vários casos de descaso dos russos com segurança, informação passada para os envolvidos e a escala das cagadas. Não conhecia por exemplo o desastre de Kyshtym de 1957, uma bomba suja acidental que contaminou uma área enorme na URSS e por muito tempo não se sabia o ocorrido.

Para completar, ainda termina com uma avaliação bem balanceada sobre os problemas e vantagens da produção de energia nuclear. Só por essa parte já seria um bom livro, mas as histórias dos desastres são o ponto alto mesmo.

[Conor Cook · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not even finish this book!

It was too dull and boring. I was only on the fourth chapter and didn't know how I got there or what had happened in between. I had high hopes for this book since it had a 4.2 rating out of 1000+ ratings but it was worse than an old high school text book.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book for the science minded or curious. It is oddly upbeat.

The content is close to a 5 star book, the writing is at 3.5 to 4 stars and the editing is closer to a 3 star book.

4 stars

[Kazen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've read non-fiction that kept drawing me back to see "what happens next" but Atomic is totally that book.

The subject matter helps - nearly every recorded radiological mishap and disaster, both famous and little-known. There are caves of death in the Ozark Mountains circa 1880, radium paint that killed dozens, World War II, Three Mile Island, and of course Fukushima Daiichi. Mahaffey leads us through each, carefully explaining isotopes and reactions in ways that neither make you feel stupid nor dumb down the material.

He states his biases right in the introduction:

The purpose of this book is not to convince you that nuclear power is unsafe beyond reason.... On the contrary, I hope to demonstrate that nuclear power is even safer than transportation by steam and may be one of the key things that will allow life on Earth to keep progressing; but please form your own conclusions.

I think he's done a great job of this - I come away from the book thinking that nuclear power has great potential but man, we need to find a way to engineer human stupidity out of it. Whether it's worth the try is left up to the reader.

I cannot review this book without mentioning the footnotes - don't skip them! Some are more information or links to videos, and others are tidbits that are awesome but wouldn't fit anywhere else. For example:

It is difficult to find a cross-section view of the Fermi 1 reactor that does not have a big X drawn through the refueling car. It was not a popular accessory.

I leave you to find the 1975 geek joke on your own.

[Hiawatha Bray · Rating 4 out of 5]

At once highly technical and highly entertaining, this history of nuclear accidents comes from a guy who, like me, is a fan of nuclear power. But he's not blind to its flaws or to the inevitable failings of the humans who operate nuke plants. Fans of technology history books will love this one.

[Lis Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a highly readable account of the history of atomic power as seen through its accidents and safety failures. That might sound like it's anti-nuclear power, but in fact Mahaffey is a long-time advocate. His major point is that in fact significant accidents are fairly rare, and that with a few notable exceptions, serious casualties are even rarer.

His account starts with a bizarre episode in the Ozarks in the late 19th century, with the accidental discovery of what eventually proved to be a radium mine.

I will say that the discussion of radium and its various uses, not just for night-glow dials but its medical uses, both science-based and as "mineral water," is by itself worth the price of admission.

As he takes us through the development of the bomb, and the first reactors to produce bomb-grade material, and then the development of peaceful nuclear power, there are stories both terrifying and delightful. Initially, everything had to be learned the hard way.

The most terrifying detail, to my mind, is that for years the US military tried to develop nuclear-powered military aircraft. Surely they would never crash... Fortunately, that proved to be a technical bridge too far, and the program was cancelled.

A recurring theme is that while all of the power-plant and bomb transport accidents involved designs that failed to anticipate a potential technological vulnerability, the power plant accidents only became disasters when one worker or another overrode the automatic controls, often for what seemed like logical reasons. There's also discussion of how politcal and economic factors played into decisions, as well as the inertia of sticking with a known design that's been reliable and effective, even though there may be better designs and paths not followed, that might make nuclear power safer, more reliable, and less unsettling for a concerned public.

He does repeatedly hit a favorite theme of mine, the ways in which excessive secrecy to prevent public panic in fact fed public fear that there were dangers they weren't being informed about.

All in all, this was an interesting and enjoyable read, or rather in this case enjoyable listen, and Tom Weiner captures exactly the right tone in his reading of it.

Highly recommended.

I bought this book.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book didn't really work for me. I was not interested in the details of just how different kinds of nuclear reactors and such work, and so for large sections, I couldn't concentrate on the descriptions. Since I was listening to an audiobook, I'd just kind of mentally drift until the accident actually happened. I was also really hoping for more descriptions of the aftermaths of the accidents, but Mahaffey usually ended the story once there was no more meltdown happening. I did enjoy the stories of very early radiation accidents and the end stories about Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, but again, it wasn't quite the focus I was looking for. And while I don't mind that Mahaffey is trying to convince the reader that nuclear power is our best resource going forward, I was really bothered that he both somewhat dismissed the problems at Fukushima Dai-ichi as ultimately unavoidable because no design can prepare for all possible events and yet predicted there would never again be such a severe accident in the future. I also thought he was rather cavalier about people's fears of radiation contamination. I too reminded myself about the radiation exposure that comes with eating one banana a day when I lived less than 100 km north of Fukushima, but I also saw what happened to the produce grown to Fukushima's south, and I wouldn't suggest anyone eat them to make any kind of point about our society's inflated concerns.

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally loved this book, which sounds odd considering the topic; but it is so educational, diligently researched, and well-written that it is actually entertaining. As a child of the Korean Conflict and Cold War, anything atomic has always been a hot topic of intrigue for me. The author's research has been exceptionally wide-ranging, and I feel as if I've just finished a year's university course in the topic; that's how much I've learned.

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fascinating, thorough, and a keeper. Read this with "Command and Control" if you want a complete look at accidents involving nuclear technology on both civilian and military sides. The recounting of early work and experiments with radioactivity was compelling in a gruesome, morbid way.

[Elentarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but not as interesting as I hoped it would be. The stories about the different nuclear reactors/power plants tended to smudge together after a while. Rather technical.

[Rasa-Skaitau ir keliauju · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mano nuomonė: Perskaityta dar viena negrožinės literatūros knyga. Tai knyga, kuri yra labai aktuali šiomis dienomis, kai girdime iš rusiškojo agresoriaus grasinimą panaudoti atominį ginklą.
Šioje įdomiai parašytoje knygoje patyręs branduolinių mokslinių tyrimų ir branduolinės energetikos propaguotojas Jamesas Mahaffey išnagrinėjo kiekvieną incidentą, kas ir kodėl nutiko, dažnai nustatydamas praeities avarijas analizavusių mokslininkų klaidas. Visos šios avarijos, nors ir pridarė nuostolių, leido geriau suprasti visagalį atomą – nuostabų mokslo atradimą, kuriame iki šiol slypi neįtikėtina rizika ir didžiuliai lūkesčiai.
Knyga -labai sunki, bet tuo pačiu labai įdomi, ypač tiems kas nors kiek domisi atominio ginklo pasekmėmis. Nepasakosiu, visų baisybių, paskaitykit patys. Knyga tikrai labai tinkama bendram supratimui kas vis gi yra tas atominis branduolinis ginklas. Tai knyga privertusi mane tiek googlinti, kad nepamenu, kad būčiau tiek daug kada googlinusi. Jau bijau, kad esu pavojingų asmenų sąraše, na bet už tai jaučiuosi šiek tiek žinanti.
Knyga labai tinkama kaip dovana vyriškajai auditorijai, kuri nemėgsta grožinės literatūros.

[Thor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely engrossed while reading this that I, with no knowledge on the matter whatsoever, can only describe as thoroughly comprehensive. I would've enjoyed even more on the current politics of nuclear power, and I think the author also wanted to write more about it. Nonetheless, I believe the perspective it offers through its retelling of atomic accidents help nuclear power with its perception, as well as highlight how secrecy breeds mistrust from the public.

There are certainly harder sections to read, some of which where I zoned out and lost an understanding of how certain systems interacted, but I do not believe this detracts from the overall quality sufficiently for me to reduce this to four stars.

If anything, I'm left feeling slightly sad, yet hopeful, that the Rickover Trap (ending up in local maximas instead of exploring other solutions that could offer better results) could be beaten with help from thorium.

[Greg Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this was an interesting book. It can be a bit technical and repetitive. But that was kind of the point. It is amazing how reckless we have been when researching nuclear fission. And this book shows that we often have made the same mistakes over and over again when trying to perfect nuclear reactors. It turns out that there have been a lot more accidents than Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. And that's what made it the most interesting to me.

BTW if you are dealing with nuclear reactive materials and you see a blue flash, it's too late.

[Jani-Petri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative book by an engineer who knows his stuff. Goes through all major (and some minor) screw-ups in painful detail. I consider myself to be fairly well informed on these things, but this book taught me a lot.

[Bryan Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a lot of fun to read. I studied nuclear physics in college and it is the emphasis of my engineering degree. Reading this book reminded me of all the times when a professor went off and told a story instead of what ever was in the syllabus for that day.

Mahaffrey does an excellent job of explaining complicated nuclear physics in a simple and clear form. Obviously, this is not a text book and wouldn't be a good way to say you have learned but it is an excellent way of gaining a solid foundation on which to build that expertise if you so desired. More importantly it is a very entertaining read of the history of the development of nuclear power all the way from the basics of a steam engine (and how they explode) through the development of reactors that taught us how nuclear power worked, through the development of nuclear weapons and the commercialization of Admiral Rickover's PWR reactors for electricity generation.

Mahaffrey is strongly pro nuclear power but is honest about the drawbacks and fascinated by the options that have not been explored. He did point out that the USA is the only country in the entire world that uses nuclear power and does not have a fuel reprocessing station. The truly dangerous parts of spent nuclear fuel is about 3% of the total fuel element. Most countries recover the usable uranium and plutonium and medically useful isotopes from the fission products and only have a small part to dispose of after that. The USA instead puts entire fuel assemblies in cooling pools at the power plant and just let them sit.

The final chapter is a description of some of the technologies that have not been vigorously persued including molten salt, liquid metal, and modular reactors. Some of the early work on these reactor types were done in the "golden age" of nuclear power in the 50's but almost all have languished since.

I would recommend this book to anyone in search of fascinating historical stories and for any that are interested in becoming familiar with the fundamental concepts of how nuclear power (and nuclear weapons) work. The author has two more books, and I intend to read his most recent one, Atomic Adventures

[Dmitry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in school some 100km away from Pripyat' when Chernobyl blew up, and I vividly remember the sense of panic that seemed to just permeate the fabric of being for months afterwards. Chernobyl had been a part of life for many years since then, and I've been reading lots of accounts and official documents about the accident. After a while you start to notice that really bad ones just pump the doom and gloom and throw sciency words around without really explaining anything, or even worth - propagate someone's naive and incorrect understanding of how nuclear reactor works. The best one by far is a newspaper article I can no longer find that said "iodine poisoning" mean that someone poured iodine solution into reactor core, sabotaging it.

But I digress. Author of this book clearly knows his nucluear fusion from nuclear fission. He explains everything (sometimes twice) and explanations are really accessible. If recounting of Chernobyl disaster is indicative, then his fact-checking seem to be quite solid as well. Stories are entertaining and have a connecting narrative.

There is very little fear-mongering in there (if any), which is also quite refreshing. Overall, I quite enjoyed it.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. The early bit was exciting and radiation shenanigans. Then it just keeps getting more and more and more technical and more than half way through I just didn’t care.

[Alexander Temerev · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and entertaining journey through history of nuclear accidents, both civilian and military. I especially appreciate the optimistic tone, and the fact that this book has been written by a nuclear engineering professional, as opposed to an investigative journalist.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters: From The Ozark Mountains to Fukushima, is a book on nuclear engineering and its history by James Mahaffey, who has considerable experience within the nuclear field. The book covers disasters and setbacks that the nuclear industry has experienced since radioactivity was studied in depth by Marie and Pierre Curie. Disasters range in scale from the naivety of the consumer market for radium paint to the large disaster at Fukushima during the 2011 Japanese earthquake/tsunami, which claimed the lives of 18 000 people and destroyed three nuclear reactors.

Mahaffey brings a wonderfully detailed narrative of the nuclear industry to light. Each disaster is explained in detail, with technical specs present, but simplified for the average reader. The composition of pipes, the machinery used to monitor nuclear reactors and the chemicals used in the process are all explained with depth, clarity and simplicity. Indeed, Mahaffey's balance of technical specs and readable wit and prose is impressive in itself.

If you want to read the history of nuclear disasters and the growth and maturation of the nuclear industry, Mahaffey has you covered. Issues surrounding the Manhattan Project, Soviet era nuclear plants and nuclear armed USAF plane crashes are all detailed in this book. Each one is as interesting as the last. Mahaffey also offers a disclaimer on nuclear power, and indeed, triumphs its successes over its failures, and points out how much worse each disaster could have been if not for the amazing feats of engineering and design that has gone into each nuclear reactor, and the bravery and intelligence of the operators at the front line.

This is a great read for those interested in nuclear power and engineering. It is highly technical at times, but also highly readable (an almost unbelievable duality). Mahaffey has written an amazing book here, and has personally inspired me to study the subject in greater detail. I can highly recommend this book to those who are into engineering and design, or physics and chemistry. I can recommend it to environmentalists and renewable energy enthusiasts as well. It is just a really interesting read.

[Paul McBride · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up on Monday, it was listed on BookBub as being available from Amazon for my Kindle, for $1.99! It is easily worth the regular price of $13.99. The author breaks down most known accidents, mishaps,, and mishandling of of nuclear weapons, nuclear power plants, and nuclear technology. What makes this book different is that the author is a pro advocate of. The nuclear power, but breaks down what went wrong, how it went wrong, what should or could have been done differently,, and if possible what was learned from it, in terms that are relatively understandable, for a non nuclear physicist. Yes at time it is overly simplified or optimistic, but you still get a full clear story, of everything from the development of the first atomic bombs, the "tickling the dragon" experiment, the mishandling of nuclear weapons, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. You also learn about some of the mishaps and lax precautions at Hanford plutonium manufacturing plant, Rocky Flats plutonium trigger Manufacturing plant, and the bomb assembly plant Pantax in Texas.
There are many wonderful books that cover each of these case study subjects exclusively and far more in depth such as
1. The Making of The Atomic Bomb- Richard Rhoades
2. Full Body Burden- Kristen Iversen (Rocky Flats)
3. Command and Control- Eric Schlosser (Nuclear weapons development, mishandling and mishaps).
This book details each incident expertly and the reader gets a much better understanding of what is a nuclear reactor, what is criticality, what is a meltdown, what makes a bomb atomic.
This is a fantastic, informative, and an enjoyable book to read.

[Teejay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely can consider a non-fiction book as five stars (though many get to 4.5, GR does not allow that classification so I round-down).

This is a five-star book. With sincerely-hefty credentials and a vast bibliography of reference material, Mahaffey lays down an absolute page-turner for anyone interested in atomic accidents, failure mode analysis, design analysis, cold-war psychology, and the human proclivity to "Foxtrot Unicorn". His command of radiological chemistry is impeccable, and he writes for the scientist as well as the layman. He tells the stories of atomic mishaps - many of them the same as I've read in many other books, but in this case the background and detail is FAR greater than I've ever encountered. He has a muted but very discernible sense of humor throughout (despite the sobering subject matter) that he wields without ever being condescending, making this a quite enjoyable read - and a reference book I'm going to hang onto as a great summation of the decay paths of various isotopes. In addition - I have never read a technical book whose footnotes were as detailed and engaging as the text itself.

If you are into any of the disciplines I mentioned above, this book is well-worth the price of admission. You'll want to read it a second or third time. First-rate; five stars, no equivocation!

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book on the Audible sale recently, and I am pleased with the purchase. It took me a couple of days to get through at work, but it was worth it. The book featured some of the more well-known nuclear incidents, such as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and the nuclear bomb lost off the coast of Tybee Beach. (Imagine all the tourists swimming around Tybee not knowing they are swimming around over a nuclear bomb.) It also featured a lot of lesser-known nuclear incidents, which I found to be particularly interesting. I have no idea why I read stuff like this...I have a nuclear plant 20ish miles to the north of my house and 20ish miles to the south. This always gives me weird feelings. At any rate, this was a solid book if you are into this type of thing.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0 out of 5 - Well researched and captivating. A must read for physics aficionados.

If you have an interest in atomic energy, you will probably have a hard time putting this book down. Filled with numerous detailed accounts of the development of atomic technology, accidents involving nuclear energy, and beginning with staged train wrecks (yes, non-atomic train wrecks), Dr. Mahaffey has done an outstanding job weaving a narrative for the non-technical person filled with lots and lots of technical information for those with deeper interest in physics and chemistry.

This is a very, dare I say, entertaining, information dense book and I look forward to reading it again.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this book. This book covers accidents and incidents involving nuclear power in the US and other countries. It covers major events, like the SL-1 explosion, as well as other events that are generally unknown. The author is witty and sarcastic. I really enjoyed his comments in the numerous footnotes. You will be shocked at how little regard was given to the safe disposal of reactors and radioactive debris in the early days. This book is important and informative and reveals just how fragile our grip on nuclear safety really is.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book. One of the best this year. And unlike some of the other related books I've read, this one is written by someone who understands all the physics (he's worked in the field for decades). Although he is fairly detailed about the physics, it's _so_ well written. My only "gripe" is that this book is so information dense that I'm going to HAVE to reread this one. Oh darn!

Update: and now I have! It was just as good the second time.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not pro-nuclear energy, but I found the information presented here to be extremely interesting and engaging. This book left me with as clear and detailed an understanding of nuclear physics, engineering, and history of civilian and military applications of nuclear technology as you can get outside a classroom.

I rarely learn this much from a single book. A must-read, whether you are pro-nuclear energy or against it.