I am Adam Higginbotham, author of Midnight In Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster. AMA!

[u/adamhigginbotham]

UPDATE: That's it--I'm out of time! Thanks very much for all your questions--I've really enjoyed answering them!

I’m a journalist and the author of Midnight In Chernobyl, the account of the 1986 nuclear disaster based on research that I began in Russia and Ukraine back in 2006, published in February this year by Simon ＆ Schuster:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Midnight-in-Chernobyl/Adam-Higginbotham/9781501134616

In the course of reporting the book, I spent hundreds of hours interviewing witnesses to the accident and its aftermath--including scientists, former Soviet generals and government ministers, plant staff and operators, and ordinary citizens of Pripyat. The book tells the human story of the disaster, showing readers not only what it was like to live through one of the most significant historical events of the Twentieth Century, but what it was like to live in the USSR during the twilight years of Soviet communism. Along the way, I hoped to debunk some of the myths and misinformation that have developed around the accident since 1986--and for the first time tell the true story of what happened in Chernobyl.

I’ve also written for magazines including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Wired, Smithsonian and The Atavist.

Ask me anything!

Proof: https://twitter.com/HigginbothamA/status/1194326864942100480

[u/ppitm]

Welcome! Your book is definitely in the top 3 written about Chernobyl. Some of the interviews are especially impressive.

Along the way, I hoped to debunk some of the myths and misinformation that have developed around the accident since 1986--and for the first time tell the true story of what happened in Chernobyl.

And yet there is some more work to do here. Have you ever come across this letter written by Sasha Yuvchenko?

"From the start of the shift until practically the explosion itself, V.I. Perevozchenko and I were together. At first in the Unit 3 control room, then with the Unit 3 pump personnel, then at my station (the senior mechanical engineer's workspace). And from there we departed to visit Khodemchuk at Unit 4 (in room 435). But he [Perevozchenko] was unexpectedly and urgently called away to the Unit 4 control room and he left, telling me to remain on the spot and not to go anywhere without him. And after his departure (in 1-2 minutes) the first shocks were heard, and then the explosion. So he could not have had time to reach the [reactor] hall and observe that which G. Medvedev describes. He never once mentioned it himself."

This debunks the famous scene from HBO, which is also described on the pages of your book. https://youtu.be/xulAgMNK5Jk?t=131

You already went on record debunking the Bridge of Death story, with real research to back it up, so do you have any interest in squashing any more myths?

[u/mediadavid]

What did you think of the recent television series on Chernobyl?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/myBisL2]

I read your book after watching the HBO special. I was surprised as it appeared in the show that Legasov played this major, day to day role in the containment efforts but in your book (which for I hope obvious reasons I give more credibility to than a TV show) Legasov was more ancillary. How did you feel about the show? What did you feel like were the biggest discrepancies?

[u/EllieMaeMoze]

What was the most shocking thing you learned in one of your interviews?

[u/JCD_007]

What was the most interesting interview you did in your efforts to write your book?

[u/Down_w-the_dankness]

I haven't read your book yet (but it is in my reading list after I get through some of my backlog), but as a journalist did the task of writing for this monumental disaster seem frightening to tackle at first? And considering you started in 2006 and it just got published this year did you at any point consider giving up when the going got rough?

[u/Tupiekit]

Hey are you the guy who did a imgur album about chernobyl a few years back and talked about how you were going to write a book about it?

If not, my bad for getting you confused. But your books sounds really interesting and I am looking forward to reading it.

[u/Chtorrr]

What were some of your favorite things to read as a kid?

[u/bluerodeo05]

I just wanted to drop in and say that this was unexpectedly one of my favorite books this year. Thank you for your reporting, I was completely captivated by it. The lessons about what happens when there is a lack of transparency in government were very timely.