Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy

The Chernobyl disaster occurred on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine. It was the world's worst nuclear disaster and contaminated over half of Europe with radioactive fallout. In Chernobyl, award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy draws on recently opened archives to recreate these events in all their drama. The book is a compelling history of the disaster and its aftermath, plunging the reader into the sweaty, nervous tension of the Chernobyl control room on that fateful night.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 432 pages
Publication date: 31 January 2019
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy


Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2018


Winner of the Puskin House Book Prize 2019




As captivating as it is meticulously researched, this book is a riveting read. Viv Groskop, Observer, rightly hailed it as a classic. On April 26, 1986, at 1:23 AM, a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine exploded. While the authorities scrambled to understand what was occurring, workers, engineers, firefighters, and those living in the area were abandoned to their fate. The blast put the world on the brink of nuclear annihilation, contaminating over half of Europe with radioactive fallout.


In Chernobyl, award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy draws on recently opened archives to recreate these events in all their drama. A moment-by-moment account of the heroes, perpetrators, and victims of a tragedy, Chernobyl is the first full account of a gripping, unforgettable Cold War story.


A compelling history of the 1986 disaster and its aftermath, this book plunges the reader into the sweaty, nervous tension of the Chernobyl control room on that fateful night when human frailty and design flaws combined to such devastating effect. Daniel Beer, Guardian, described it as "haunting ... near-Tolstoyan." His voice is humane and inflected with nostalgia. Roland Elliott Brown, Spectator, praised it as "extraordinary, vividly written, powerful storytelling ... the first full-scale history of the world's worst nuclear disaster, one of the defining moments in the Cold War, told minute by minute." Victor Sebestyen, Sunday Times, called it "plays out like a classical tragedy ... fascinating." Julian Evans, Daily Telegraph, described it as "here at last is the monumental history the disaster deserves." Julie McDowall, Financial Times, wrote, "This is a masterpiece of reportage, a work of immense scholarship and compassion."

Weight: 316g
Dimension: 191 x 191 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780141988351