Author Description

<p>In the early hours of the morning of 26 April 1986, the nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine exploded, unleashing a storm of radioactive material into the atmosphere and contaminating most of Europe with its fallout. It was a disaster on an unprecedented scale. <p>In this comprehensive guide, Ian Fitzgerald explores the events as they unfolded: the science behind the explosion and what went wrong; the hubris and heroism shown on the ground as engineers, firefighters, doctors and government officials all worked to contain the fiasco; as well as the cover-ups and recriminations that followed. Photographs reveal the human side to the story and the ordinary men and woman who put their lives on the line to escape total catastrophe. <p>Fitzgerald asks what lessons can be learned - and what, if anything, we are doing to make sure they can never happen again.</p>