Paul R. Josephson

This book does contain a lot of interesting information on nuclear power in Soviet Russia, but it was a pain to get through. I seriously disliked the way the book was organized. It feels like the author was trying to present each item or concept as separate from all the other items presented in the book. Some parts also felt like there was too much information on US programs, followed up with a brief explanation of how the Soviets tried pretty much the same thing. I have read a lot about the American effort to build a nuclear powered airplane. I am reading this book to find out more about the Soviet effort, not get a rehashing of what the Americans did.

The book's chapter on nuclear airplanes and rockets was substantially shorter than the section on food irradiation. I was quite frustrated by this. Overall I was disappointed with the book. I felt it didn't contain very much new or insightful information.… (more)

A decent look at the impact of industrialization on nature, but the author has an unfortunate habit, all too common among environmental writers, of conflating technology with all of science. He uses scientists where he should use engineers, and someone who doesn't understand the difference probably should collaborate with someone who does before writing a book like this. He complains incessantly, and legitimately, that many of the world's biggest projects (he looks mostly at US and Russia, with a couple of projects in Brazil and Norway) are undertaken without consideration of the ecology. He's right; unfortunately, ecology really isn't any too present in this book, either, and it would have been better for a healthy dose of it. Also, the book relies way to much on long lists of numbers, a sure turn off for all but the wonkiest readers, and a good way to put someone to sleep. These could have been addressed better in tables and graphs, and probably would have been easier to follow in that format, as there is way too much to keep track of in text, leaving a great deal of flipping back and forth. Overall, probably not a book I would recommend to the eager reader, let alone the casual browser.… (more)

A very detailed history of the civil Soviet nuclear program, with only few references to the military one. All the scientists, engieneers and politicians involved in the program are presented, with detailed biographies. The Chernobyl accident is covered, as well the root causes at the base of it.

It is a very interesting reading, but very long. It is an history book and reading it from end to end in one solution is going to be boring. I did it and found myself skipping several pages of uninteresting biographies.… (more)