Journey to Chernobyl

The name Chernobyl is now etched forever into human history. It was the scene of a man-made disaster, the full implications of which are still not known. Exactly what happened on April 26, 1986, remains a mystery. But when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the people of Ukraine were free at last to talk about what they knew. Glenn Cheney, who has traveled widely, spent more than six weeks in the Chernobyl area, arriving in Kiev during those first days when Ukraine became independent. From almost his very first day, he talked with scientists, journalists, refugees, engineers, top-level government officials, doctors, environmentalists, parents of sick children and people living just a few kilometers from the Chernobyl complex. He heard stories about the disaster that went far beyond what was reported in the Western press: the terrifying evacuation of Pripyat, a nearby city; bureaucratic bungling, falsification and destruction of data; the dangers of "Chernobyl AIDS" that may be indirectly killing thousands of people; and the inevitability of future accidents. This is a look at Chernobyl from a unique perspective: reports of atrocities, epidemics, tyranny and despair blend with a most unusual travelogue, including close relationships and even KGB intrigue. Cheneyąs very simple, very human voice alternately exudes humor and horror. The total effect is of an unpretentious person peering into an abyss of death and corruption.