
Atoms and Ashes
A Global History of Nuclear Disasters
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Narrated by:
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Leighton Pugh
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By:
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Serhii Plokhy
About this listen
A chilling account of seventy years of nuclear catastrophes, by the author of the “definitive” (Economist) Cold War history, Nuclear Folly.
Nuclear energy was embraced across the globe at the height of the nuclear industry in the 1960s and 1970s; today, there are 440 nuclear reactors operating throughout the world, with nuclear power providing ten percent of world electricity. Yet as the world seeks to reduce carbon emissions to combat climate change, the question arises: Just how safe is nuclear energy?
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. Atoms and Ashes provides a crucial perspective on the most dangerous nuclear disasters of the past in order to safeguard our future.
©2022 Serhii Polkhy (P)2022 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
From the pioneers of Los Alamos who got up close and personal with the cores of atomic bombs, to the hapless engineers in Soviet fuel-processing plants who unwittingly mixed up a disaster in a bucket, and from the terrifying impact of a tsunami at Fukushima to the mystery of the recent Russian incident, Meltdown explores the past and future of this extraordinary and potentially lethal source of infinite power
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A less well written version of another book
- By Amazon Customer on 01-10-22
By: Joel Levy
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Raven Rock
- The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself - While the Rest of Us Die
- By: Garrett M. Graff
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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A fresh window on American history: the eye-opening truth about the government's secret plans to survive a catastrophic attack on US soil, even if the rest of us die - a road map that spans from the dawn of the nuclear age to today.
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Awesome Read!!
- By Brewer Richardson on 05-05-17
By: Garrett M. Graff
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The Russo-Ukrainian War
- The Return of History
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
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Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war—and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences.
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Plokhy delivers as always!
- By Kristinka on 05-20-23
By: Serhii Plokhy
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Command and Control
- Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety
- By: Eric Schlosser
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 20 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Famed investigative journalist Eric Schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the management of America's nuclear arsenal. A groundbreaking account of accidents, near misses, extraordinary heroism, and technological breakthroughs, Command and Control explores the dilemma that has existed since the dawn of the nuclear age: How do you deploy weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them? That question has never been resolved - and Schlosser reveals how the combination of human fallibility and technological complexity still poses a grave risk to mankind.
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A miracle that we escaped the Cold War alive....
- By A reader on 02-16-14
By: Eric Schlosser
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Restricted Data
- The History of Nuclear Secrecy in the United States
- By: Alex Wellerstein
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on troves of declassified files, including records released by the government for the first time through the author's efforts, Restricted Data traces the complex evolution of the US nuclear secrecy regime from the first whisper of the atomic bomb through the mounting tensions of the Cold War and into the early 21st century. A compelling history of powerful ideas at war, it tells a story that feels distinctly American: rich, sprawling, and built on the conflict between high-minded idealism and ugly, fearful power.
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Alright. Some interesting facts
- By Dustin C. on 07-28-24
By: Alex Wellerstein
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A Thousand Pounds of Dynamite
- By: Adam Higginbotham
- Narrated by: Adam Higginbotham
- Length: 2 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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The bomb appeared early one morning in an upstairs office of Harvey’s Wagon Wheel Casino near Lake Tahoe, an enigmatic box covered in a bewildering array of switches. A neatly typed letter explained that the box contained 1,000 pounds of dynamite. It was the largest improvised explosive device in American history - and its creator promised to explain how to remove it safely if the casino delivered $3 million by helicopter to a remote landing site in the mountains.
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Great
- By Red Plammer on 10-24-16
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The Apocalypse Factory
- Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic Age
- By: Steve Olson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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It began with plutonium, the first element ever manufactured in quantity by humans. Fearing that the Germans would be the first to weaponize the atom, the United States marshaled brilliant minds and seemingly inexhaustible bodies to find a way to create a nuclear chain reaction of inconceivable explosive power. In a matter of months, the Hanford nuclear facility was built to produce and weaponize the enigmatic and deadly new material that would fuel atomic bombs.
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Lacking in many aspects
- By ATM on 08-27-20
By: Steve Olson
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Station Blackout
- Inside the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster and Recovery
- By: Charles A. Casto
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In Station Blackout, Chuck Casto, the foremost authority on responding to nuclear disasters, shares his first-hand account of how he led the collaborative team of Japanese and American experts that faced the challenges of Fukushima. A lifetime of working in the nuclear industry prepared him to manage an extreme crisis, lessons that apply to any crisis situation.
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no thanks
- By Rob on 03-19-19
By: Charles A. Casto
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Idaho Falls
- The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident
- By: William McKeown
- Narrated by: Bob Dunsworth
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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When asked to name the world’s first major nuclear accident, most people cite the Three Mile Island incident or the Chernobyl disaster. Revealed in this book is one of American history’s best-kept secrets: the world’s first nuclear reactor accident to claim fatalities happened on United States soil. Chronicled here for the first time is the strange tale of SL-1, a military test reactor located in Idaho’s Lost River Desert that exploded on the night of January 3, 1961, killing the three-man maintenance crew on duty.
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A Really Good, but Dreadfully Written Book
- By Matthew on 03-08-17
By: William McKeown
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The Collapse
- The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall
- By: Mary Elise Sarotte
- Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The Berlin Wall was erected in 1961 to end all traffic between the city’s two halves: the democratic west and the communist east. The iconic symbol of a divided Europe, the Wall became a focus of western political pressure on East Germany; as Ronald Reagan’s famously said in a 1987 speech in Berlin, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
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NON VIOLENCE WINS
- By DS on 05-25-15
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Chernobyl 01:23:40
- The Incredible True Story of the World's Worst Nuclear Disaster
- By: Andrew Leatherbarrow
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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At 01:23:40 on April 26th 1986, Alexander Akimov pressed the emergency shutdown button at Chernobyl's fourth nuclear reactor. It was an act that forced the permanent evacuation of a city, killed thousands, and crippled the Soviet Union. The event spawned decades of conflicting, exaggerated, and inaccurate stories.
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Lost in his own navel
- By Christopher on 10-17-16
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The Man with the Poison Gun
- A Cold War Spy Story
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In the fall of 1961, KGB assassin Bogdan Stashinsky defected to West Germany. After spilling his secrets to the CIA, Stashinsky was put on trial in what would be the most publicized assassination case of the entire Cold War. The publicity stirred up by the Stashinsky case forced the KGB to change its modus operandi abroad and helped end the career of Aleksandr Shelepin, one of the most ambitious and dangerous Soviet leaders.
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Long…but excellent
- By Shawna Hanley on 10-16-23
By: Serhii Plokhy
What listeners say about Atoms and Ashes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nancy & Greg
- 04-10-25
Excellent Deep Dive Into Nuclear Accidents of the Nuclear Age
"Atoms and Ashes" is an excellent deep dive into the major disasters of the Nuclear Age. From the first accident following World War 2, through the Fukushima meltdown, the author explores why those accidents occurred, how they were handled within the confines of the respective governmental and cultural structures, and what changes to the nuclear industry came about.
This book has the right balance between science, history and even dramatic elements that most readers should appreciate. The narration by Leighton Pugh is very calming and comfortable.
I am pleased to recommend this book.
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- fjness
- 08-16-22
Edge of your seat history
Plokhy grabs your attention from page one with his attention to the human condition and illumination of extraordinary courage of these historical figures. You will want to curse human greed and cry at the heart breaks. Plokhy covers the five major nuclear accidents in 1.25 hr segments. He integrates the technical, social, and personal seamlessly, providing a rich context to thesis: nuclear may be riskier than the price of research.
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-28-23
Great book
I’m not a robot I’m a boy in 7th grade
that just really like this book
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- MGGGK9
- 12-20-24
Fantastic
Of course the big three (TMI, Chernobyl, and Fukushima) are discussed more towards the end of the book, but the first part focuses more on nuclear weapons testing and the first reactors development. Completely engaging if you’re into nuclear science.
Read by someone with a British accent which was a little annoying at times, but that’s coming from and American.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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- Henry Hernandez
- 05-29-24
Great read
Excellent content and well read. I am a Chernobyl aficionado and even I learned something new.
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- WD
- 08-18-24
behind the scenes info
I enjoyed the back stories on all these nuclear incidents. The explanations of human screwups is well done!
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- bruce kittrick
- 01-04-25
We are all downwinders.
The deep analysis of the most famous nuclear accidents is particularly well done. Until the loooonnnng term storage of nuclear waste is addressed this industry is folly.
The PBS show on the Novarka lead effort to buy up to one hundred years of shelter for the Chernobyl site is a fine accompaniment to this serious work by the fine author.
Chernobyl has been sheltered but the long term storage issue is apparently going to land in our descendent’s lap.
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- J. Seawright
- 06-11-22
This was a pretty sensational and biased book.
The author repeatedly noted that medical professionals and research scientists disagreed with this conclusion or that about the potential dangers of nuclear energy, but then went forward with the conclusions as obviously true anyway, without offering supporting analysis or evidence. Additionally, he did not fully consider the environmental risks of other forms of power, and assumed that nuclear waste - poisonous but relatively easily contained- is more of a burden to future generations than are either waste from current forms of electricity generation or the environmental destruction required for large-scale implementation of renewables. It was frustrating, because his analysis of the danger of future accidents should we massively expand nuclear generation is pretty reasonable.
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- Micah Cowan
- 06-18-24
not bad, but missing some stuff
This book talks fairly accurately on a lot of thing, but its very inconsistent on unit scale. Using a consistent unit of radiation levels would make it a lot easier to understand and conpare the accidents. It also seems kind of strange that its a book about nuclear accidents in reactors and decides to talk about the castle bravo incident, but not SL-1 which seems like it would fit more with the theme of this book.
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