This is an incomplete list of books about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Soon after the events of Chernobyl on April 26, 1986 generated global attention, numerous fiction and non-fiction titles have been published on the subject. Very early examples included a 1987 fiction book by science-fiction author Frederik Pohl, titled Chernobyl, while many famous non-fiction titles about Chernobyl were unwritten and unpublished until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
This list is not exhaustive and may not reflect all books, including recently-published, pre-released and self-published books.
Non-fiction
- Biohazard (1999) by Ken Alibek (discusses Chernobyl and the 1979 Sverdlovsk anthrax leak as two of many accidents that happened involving hazardous substances in the Soviet Union).
- Midnight in Chernobyl (2019) by Adam Higginbotham (reexamines the disaster using up-to-date reports and historical archives).
- Out of Chernobyl: A Girl Named Olga (2008) by Maureen A. White (memoir about raising a Chernobyl survivor named Olga, a young girl who immigrated to Canada and attended school in the province of Nova Scotia).
- The Truth About Chernobyl (1991) by Grigori Medvedev (first-hand testimony about the disaster; Medvedev worked at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and witnessed the accident).
- Voices from Chernobyl (1997) by Svetlana Alexievich (relates the psychological and personal tragedy of the Chernobyl accident, and explores the experiences of individuals and how the disaster affected their lives; was also part of the inspiration for the 2019 HBO TV miniseries Chernobyl.
Fiction
- Chernobyl (1987) by Frederik Pohl (fictional version of the disaster, based heavily on the true events as known at the time; Chernobyl was one of the first fiction titles to be published on the Chernobyl disaster).
- Wolves Eat Dogs (2004) by Martin Cruz Smith (crime novel featuring characters affected by the events of the Chernobyl disaster, written as a murder mystery ending on an ambiguous note; the book discusses effects of radiation poisoning on ordinary people, including infertility).
See also
References