krista_the_tsundoku's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
milooo's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.0
I'm not a non-fiction person, but this was a really interesting read (though a little bit statistics heavy for my personal taste). I did appreciate how Kate Brown linked the issue of radioactivity to a number of different factors such as politics, history, and culture. Overall, pretty bleak in terms of subject matter (radioactive disasters aren't really a beach read) but very informative and nuanced in its detail.
__karen__'s review against another edition
4.0
This is a very interesting — and horrifying — book. Those who found the recent HBO Chernobyl mini-series intriguing likely will also be interested in Manual for Survival. While HBO’s Chernobyl focused mainly on events during and shortly after the Chernobyl accident, Manual for Survival also focuses on the long-term health effects (of which there were many).
neilmlfd16's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
A must-read
hannahmay30's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting and well written, but found it quite hard to stay focused due to the heavy subject matter. However, can't be helped to an extent when writing about Chernobyl....
aesopsdaddy's review against another edition
4.0
In the face of an epidemic of misinformation and no comprehensive epidemiological study ever being conducted on the health effects of the Chernobyl disaster, Kate Brown’s book is a marvel in historical journalism and investigative demythologisation. This work of non-fiction celebrates the brave sacrifices and whistleblowing efforts of the unsung heroes that seldom appear in traditional histories of Chernobyl. It’s a testament to the importance of learning from the lies told in times of tragedy that strikes a thoroughly contemporary chord despite the event occurring almost 40 years ago, occasionally reading like a tense espionage thriller. Though it took me a long time to read due to its density and retreading of familiar radioactive ground given its relation to my dissertation topic, Brown’s in-depth study - well-researched and not afraid to get its hands dirty - will be very helpful indeed and is worth reading for all those interested in the inevitable catastrophe that brought the Soviet behemoth down.
chelsea_not_chels's review against another edition
3.0
Unfortunately, not really a guide to the future. This is very much a civil history of the Chernobyl disaster, which was fascinating in and of itself, but doesn't seem to illustrate that any lessons were learned or offer any real advice for what civilization should do going forward. Seeing the complicity of different governments to cover up the true effects of the disaster was striking and disturbing, and of course so was the hinting that the same thing was down following the Fukoshima disaster in 2011, though Brown never really dug into that. Very interesting historical look, but not much about the future, despite the promise of the title and summary.
mfilak07's review against another edition
5.0
extremely spooky and concerning
immense kudos to kate for her research
immense kudos to kate for her research