Ablaze
The Story of Chernobyl
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Ablaze
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Narrated by:
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Miles Meili
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By:
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Piers Paul Read
About this listen
The best-selling author presents a heart-pounding account of the world's greatest nuclear disaster, based on sources not available before the fall of the Soviet Union. Read's enthralling account is filled with acts of courage - and also bumbling confusion, secrecy, lies, and coverups. Read spent many months in Russia interviewing hundreds of survivors and experts.
©1993 Piers Paul Read (P)2019 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Chernobyl
- The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,980
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,764
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,758
On the morning of April 26, 1986, Europe witnessed the worst nuclear disaster in history: the explosion of a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine. Dozens died of radiation poisoning, fallout contaminated half the continent, and thousands fell ill. In Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy draws on new sources to tell the dramatic stories of the firefighters, scientists, and soldiers who heroically extinguished the nuclear inferno. He lays bare the flaws of the Soviet nuclear industry....
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4 out of 5 stars
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Companions to Each Other
- By Tim on 06-04-19
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Alive
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- Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 834
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 740
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Story5 out of 5 stars 740
On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young rugby players crashed into the remote, snow-peaked Andes. Out of the 45 original passengers and crew, only 16 made it off the mountain alive. For 10 excruciating weeks, they suffered deprivations beyond imagining, confronting nature head-on at its most furious and inhospitable. And to survive, these men and women not only had to keep their faith; they had to make an impossible decision: Should they eat the flesh of their dead friends?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Overall Great Read
- By Eric Ames on 06-02-21
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Atoms and Ashes
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- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 113
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 100
Atoms and Ashes recounts the dramatic history of nuclear accidents that have dogged the industry in its military and civil incarnations since the 1950s. Through the stories of six terrifying major incidents—Bikini Atoll, Kyshtym, Windscale, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima—Cold War expert Serhii Plokhy explores the risks of nuclear power, both for military and peaceful purposes, while offering a vivid account of how individuals and governments make decisions under extraordinary circumstances.
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3 out of 5 stars
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This was a pretty sensational and biased book.
- By J. Seawright on 06-11-22
By: Serhii Plokhy
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Midnight in Chernobyl
- By: Adam Higginbotham
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,922
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,943
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Story5 out of 5 stars 6,904
April 25, 1986 in Chernobyl was a turning point in world history. The disaster not only changed the world’s perception of nuclear power and the science that spawned it, but also our understanding of the planet’s delicate ecology. With the images of the abandoned homes and playgrounds beyond the barbed wire of the 30-kilometer Exclusion Zone, the rusting graveyards of contaminated trucks and helicopters, the farmland lashed with black rain, the event fixed for all time the notion of radiation as an invisible killer.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Midnight in Chernobyl is the book to listen to.
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,106
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4 out of 5 stars
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Drunk customers. Shoplifting raccoons. Otherworldly visitors. As night shift clerk at the 24-hour gas station at the edge of town, Jack has pretty much seen it all.
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5 out of 5 stars
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???
- By Avery Adair on 11-27-23
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Chernobyl
- The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,980
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,764
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,758
On the morning of April 26, 1986, Europe witnessed the worst nuclear disaster in history: the explosion of a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine. Dozens died of radiation poisoning, fallout contaminated half the continent, and thousands fell ill. In Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy draws on new sources to tell the dramatic stories of the firefighters, scientists, and soldiers who heroically extinguished the nuclear inferno. He lays bare the flaws of the Soviet nuclear industry....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Companions to Each Other
- By Tim on 06-04-19
By: Serhii Plokhy
-
Alive
- The Story of the Andes Survivors
- By: Piers Paul Read
- Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 834
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 740
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 740
On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young rugby players crashed into the remote, snow-peaked Andes. Out of the 45 original passengers and crew, only 16 made it off the mountain alive. For 10 excruciating weeks, they suffered deprivations beyond imagining, confronting nature head-on at its most furious and inhospitable. And to survive, these men and women not only had to keep their faith; they had to make an impossible decision: Should they eat the flesh of their dead friends?
-
5 out of 5 stars
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Overall Great Read
- By Eric Ames on 06-02-21
By: Piers Paul Read
-
Atoms and Ashes
- A Global History of Nuclear Disasters
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 113
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 100
Atoms and Ashes recounts the dramatic history of nuclear accidents that have dogged the industry in its military and civil incarnations since the 1950s. Through the stories of six terrifying major incidents—Bikini Atoll, Kyshtym, Windscale, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima—Cold War expert Serhii Plokhy explores the risks of nuclear power, both for military and peaceful purposes, while offering a vivid account of how individuals and governments make decisions under extraordinary circumstances.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
This was a pretty sensational and biased book.
- By J. Seawright on 06-11-22
By: Serhii Plokhy
-
Midnight in Chernobyl
- By: Adam Higginbotham
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,922
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,943
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6,904
April 25, 1986 in Chernobyl was a turning point in world history. The disaster not only changed the world’s perception of nuclear power and the science that spawned it, but also our understanding of the planet’s delicate ecology. With the images of the abandoned homes and playgrounds beyond the barbed wire of the 30-kilometer Exclusion Zone, the rusting graveyards of contaminated trucks and helicopters, the farmland lashed with black rain, the event fixed for all time the notion of radiation as an invisible killer.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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Midnight in Chernobyl is the book to listen to.
- By NH on 03-21-19
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- By: James Mahaffey
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,106
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,905
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,895
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4 out of 5 stars
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Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One
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- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 594
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 519
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 519
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???
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The voice of the presenter
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What listeners say about Ablaze
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Heidi
- 01-06-21
Thorough Accout
Read this in hardback. Was glad to see it in Audible. Good thorough account of what happened that day. My one little complaint is most of the firefighters who died were referred to as "the fireman" instead of by name. The book is brimming with names for others involved in the tragedy. The firefighters deserve to be named as well.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. Gebner
- 03-10-21
Excellent
well written and well read. provides different information and perspectives than some other books on the subject.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- HEATHER
- 06-04-20
Great Info About Chernobyl
Excellent book. At times, the reader can be a little monotonous but it's not often. If you want to know about the accident at Chernobyl, this book is great. I've read/listened to over 20 books about Chernobyl and there was info in this book I've never seen anywhere. It goes into great detail without being "preachy." He lets the reader decide for themselves and even gives figures without gloom and doom. Overall, it's an amazing book.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 05-01-21
Decent but that narrator though....
A few new tidbits and overall a decent focus on the people involved.
One note though. If you know certain pronunciations, the one's the narrator gets wrong might just be so annoying as to put you off the entire book. In particular, his pronunciation of "Gorbachev" changes subtly every time he says it and somehow or another he gets it wrong ever time and i think he gets it more wrong as he goes along.
He's got a very pleasant voice and good delivery but it's so very striking when you come across these kind of mangled pronunciations of things that aren't terribly obscure. Kind of ruins the whole I'm listening to an "expert" type thing.
Food for thought.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Well Read in Iowa
- 01-04-24
Was in Western Europe at that time.
This book was well researched with a lot of information and well worth the read, some spots drag a bit and it becomes just a bit difficult to follow but it sorts itself out and gets back on track. Not sure but it went from Russian to WWII then back to nuclear facilities then back to how corrupt the Russians are. Look the United States has its problems too, specially with telling the truth and getting information out there to its people. I guess that all this finger pointing is redundant and that yea there was a disaster at this facility and the only thing that caused it was human error. That’s what we wanted to hear was the disaster at this plant not a history lesson or how corrupt government is (all government). The US has had its nuclear problems as well.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- T Lou
- 09-06-21
Good listen!
This was a very informative book. The writing was very engaging and it explained complex science in a way even I could understand. The only thing that frustrated me was the narration. While the narrattor was good for every other purpose, the Russian names were a distracting miss.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Edward Johnson
- 10-31-21
Pre-Higinbotham Pre-Plokhii #1 Work on the Subject
I have read many, many works on Chernobyl. As of the time of writing I consider Higinbotham's, Midnight in Chernobyl and Plokhii's Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Disaster to be the seminal works on the subject. However, much credit must go to Read's Ablaze as it was written so soon after the disaster and in the midst of the fall of the Soviet Union. We know a lot more about the situation at Chernobyl since this book was published, but much respect is due to him starting the literary cadence of works on the subject. Also notable is the narrative voice this book unfolds through; similar to his other works it is supremely engaging.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nancy & Greg
- 01-25-23
Excellent Portrait of Chernobyl and More
This book regarding the Chernobyl nuclear disaster differs from other books on the same subject that I have read. Like many works on Chernobyl, time is spent discussing the rise of nuclear power in the USSR, and the accident at the power plant. However, more than most projects, a good deal of time is spent on the aftermath, especially its impact on people and the Soviet system itself.
Filled with fascinating accounts and first-hand reports on what would lead to the fall of the USSR, "Ablaze" is an all-around complete work by a well-regarded author. I highly recommend.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Heather
- 11-10-20
Too much filler
This book used the repeated use of full names to take up page length. Name after name and full institutional titles when the stand abbreviations would do. Also, the narrator’s attempt to pronounce all the names with accents was distracting and pointless.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Ciel Morrison
- 06-29-22
Somehow doesn't match the actual book.
First of all, some of the names are wrong. Particularly Boris Stolyarchuk, whose name is instead Piotr for some reason. There is a repeat of Grigori Medvedev's lies that seem to have been slapped on after the original release of the book because I've cross-referenced things with a hard copy and it lacks them in the original. This audio book seems to have been edited to match HBO's fictional drama. The pronunciations are pretty bad too, but I suppose I can't fault the narrator much there, slavic names can be very difficult. However, I am very disappointed that I sat through several hours of the same lies Medvedev spouted, refuted by eye-witness accounts, even. Such things weren't in the hard copy my friend owns. It's an entertaining story, sure, but when it comes to the details of the accident it's just a huge mess. Even repeating that Valery Perevozchenko somehow managed to see the caps on the UBS jumping prior to the explosion, which never happened, before making it to the control room before the explosion at a speed no human could ever match. My time was definitely wasted.
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1 person found this helpful