Atomic Accidents

A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters; From the Ozark Mountains to Fukushima

By: James Mahaffey

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

From the moment radiation was discovered in the late nineteenth century, nuclear science has had a rich history of innovative scientific exploration and discovery, coupled with mistakes, accidents, and downright disasters.

Mahaffey, a long-time advocate of continued nuclear research and nuclear energy, looks at each incident in turn and analyzes what happened and why, often discovering where scientists went wrong when analyzing past meltdowns.

Every incident has lead to new facets in understanding about the mighty atom—and Mahaffey puts forth what the future should be for this final frontier of science that still holds so much promise.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2014 James Mahaffey (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

Fascinating

You wouldn't expect what is basically a wrote review of the actions surrounding nuclear accidents to be so intriguing. I couldn't stop listening.

loved it!

I wish I hadn't listened to it so I could start it from the beginning again. completely fascinating, with just the right tinge of humor to point out the absurdity that sometimes creeps up in the nuclear industry.

An interesting history about the atomic age

What made the experience of listening to Atomic Accidents the most enjoyable?

Enough detail to keep it interesting without overwhelming the listener with complicated science.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Not applicable

Which character – as performed by Tom Weiner – was your favorite?

Not applicable

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it was nice to mull over a chapter before listening to the next.

Fantastically digestible backgrounder on atomic accidents

This is a genuinely accessible outline of the history that brought us to where we are today on all things nuclear. A great blend of storytelling, carefully curated science and technical detail, and a healthy dose of humor throughout.

If you're of a non-technical background, this is a very useful primer on the whole thing. Even if things do regularly, in fact, 'burn like gasoline'.

10/10, would play for a friend curious but uncertain about nuclear stuff on a long drive!

Excellent review of nuclear errors

This book tells the details of most major nuclear accidents in sufficient detail and simplicity that most people who completed high school science can easily follow, and a bit of humor to make the narrative enjoyable to read (listen). By the end I had undergone several intellectual transformations. I started out as a slightly pessimistic nuclear agnostic, becoming decidedly opposed to further expansion of large nuclear projects, only to become quite optimistic that 80 years of mistakes have brought us to a point where we can finally begin to develop our nuclear industry safely.

Great for any fan of science.

Impeccably researched and extremely informative.
The narration is clear and consistent, fitting the writing style perfectly.

A fantastic history lesson in 20th century science.
Atomic Accidents spans pre-nuclear steam explosions to dangerous X-ray exposures right up to Chernobyl and Fukushima.

After reading this book twice, I feel optimistic about the future of nuclear power.

Good book / difficult narration

I think that, overall, this was a good book. The problem is that I think it was not necessarily a suitable book for narration.
Not the narrator's fault... it just can be very technical at times.

a great read if you're interested in energy

I very much enjoyed this book. Even though my politics are probably quite to the left of the author it really opened my eyes to the realities of nuclear power. I suggest anyone who has an opinion for or against nuclear power to read this book and see how they feel at the end. it's fairly easy to understand and yet has enough scientific technicality to it that you learn something. the narrator was good and properly pronounced all the complex chemical names, Etc.

Excellent.

Couldn't ask for anything more. Great narration of a top tier book, in fact the most informative and interesting book I have encountered on audible so far. I would have given it ten stars if the option were available, I will no doubt be taking a second listen in the near future.

interesting - little dry

great history of nuclear power

our history includes lots and lots of mistakes - as we know