Nuclear issues Books

Book SynopsisEmma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf book club choiceNew York Times bestseller ‘Fascinating’ Sunday Times ‘Thrilling’ ★★★★★ Mail on SundayAll they wanted was the chance to shine. Be careful what you wish for…‘The first thing we asked was, “Does this stuff hurt you?” And they said, “No.” The company said that it wasn’t dangerous, that we didn’t need to be afraid.’ As the First World War spread across the world, young American women flocked to work in factories, painting clocks, watches and military dials with a special luminous substance made from radium. It was a fun job, lucrative and glamorous – the girls shone brightly in the dark, covered head to toe in dust from the paint. However, as the years passed, the women began to suffer from myTrade Review'Kate Moore’s new book will move, shock and anger you.' * The Big Issue *‘This fascinating social history – one that significantly reflects on the class and gender of those involved – [is] Catherine Cookson meets Mad Men . . . The importance of the brave and blighted dial-painters cannot be overstated.’ * Sunday Times *‘Thrilling and carefully crafted.’ * Mail on Sunday *‘Heartfelt.’ * Sunday Telegraph *‘Kate Moore . . . writes with a sense of drama that carries one through the serpentine twists and turns of this tragic but ultimately uplifting story.’ * The Spectator *‘Fascinating yet tragic.’ * The Sun *‘Heartbreaking . . . what this book illustrates brilliantly is that battling for justice against big corporations isn’t easy.’ * BBC Radio 4, Woman’s Hour *‘A perfect blend of the historical, the scientific and the personal, this richly detailed book sheds a whole new light on this unique element and the role it played in changing workers’ rights. The Radium Girls makes it impossible for you to ignore these women’s incredible stories, and proves why now, more than ever, we can’t afford to ignore science, either.’ * Bustle *‘Carefully researched, the work will stun readers with its descriptions of the glittering artisans who, oblivious to health dangers, twirled camel-hair brushes to fine points using their mouths.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Moore’s harrowing but humane story describes the struggle of a few brave women who took their case to court in a fight for justice that is still resonant today.’ * Saga *‘Kate Moore’s The Radium Girls tells the story of a cohort of women who made history by entering the workforce at the dawn of a new scientific era . . . Moore sheds new light on a dark chapter in American labour history; the radium girls . . . live again in her telling.’ -- Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author‘Kate Moore’s gripping narrative about the betrayal of the radium girls – gracefully told and exhaustively researched – makes this a non-fiction classic. Moore’s compassion for her subjects and her story-telling prowess . . . bring alive a shameful era in America’s industrial history.’ -- Rinker Buck, author of The Oregon Trail

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Book SynopsisBe prepared for the worst case scenario with t this field-tested guide to surviving a nuclear attack, written by a revered civil defense expert.This edition of Cresson H. Kearny’s iconic Nuclear War Survival Skills (originally published in 1979 and updated by Kearny himself in 1987 and again in 2001), offers expert advice for ensuring your family’s safety should the worst come to pass. Chock-full of practical instructions and preventative measures, Nuclear War Survival Skills is based on years of meticulous scientific research conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Featuring a new introduction by ex-Navy SEAL and New York Times bestselling author Don Mann, this book also includes Instructions for six different fallout shelters Food and water Myths and facts about the dangers of nuclear weapons Tips for maintaining an adequate food and water supply Shelter sanitation and preventive medicine Surviving without doctors A foreword by “the father of the hydrogen bomb,” physicist Dr. Edward Teller, An “About the Author” note by Eugene P. Wigner, physicist and Nobel Laureate. Written at a time when global tensions were at their peak, Nuclear War Survival Skills remains relevant in the dangerous age in which we now live.

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Trade ReviewAn accessible text with a strong structure that provides a launch pad for further exploration. * Murray Collins, London School of Economics (LSE) *Table of ContentsContents ; Preface ; Acknowledgements ; 1. Fundamentals ; What is energy, and what is power? ; Is most energy that people use derived from nuclear energy? ; What is the origin of nuclear energy? ; What is radioactivity? ; Why is ionizing radiation a health concern? ; What is radioactive half-life, and how can knowing it help increase countries' security? ; How much more energetic is nuclear energy compared to chemical energy? ; Why has it been so difficult to commercialize nuclear fusion? ; How was nuclear fission discovered? ; What role, if any, did Albert Einstein play in the discovery of nuclear energy? ; What is a fission chain reaction? ; What is uranium, where did it come from, and how was it discovered? ; What is plutonium, how was it discovered, and how hazardous is it? ; Why can't nuclear reactors explode like a nuclear bomb? ; What is the nuclear fuel cycle? ; Why are certain activities in the nuclear fuel cycle called <"dual-use>"? ; What are the various uranium enrichment methods? ; What are the nuclear

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Book SynopsisA study of the nuclear theme in Japanese intellectual and artistic life, recounting the history of Japanese public discourse around Hiroshima and Nagasaki from August 6, 1945, to the present day. It studies works from the earliest survivor writers up to Japanese intellectuals writing today.Table of ContentsAtrocity into words; genre and post-Hiroshima representation; the three debates; Hara Tamiki and the documentary fallacy; poetry against itself; Ota Yoko and the place of the narrator; Oe Kenzaburo - humanism and Hiroshima; Ibuse Masuji - nature, nostalgia, memory; Nagasaki and the human future; the atomic, the nuclear, and the total - Oda Makoto.

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Book SynopsisModern societies require energy systems to provide energy for cooking, heating, transport, and materials processing, as well as for electricity generation. Energy systems include the primary fuel, its conversion, and transport to the point of use. In many cases this primary fuel is still a fossil fuel, a one-use resource derived from a finite supply within our planet, causing considerable damage to the environment. After 300 years of increasing reliance on fossil fuels, particularly coal, it is becoming ever clearer that the present energy systems need to change. In this Very Short Introduction Nick Jenkins explores our historic investment in the exploitation of fossil energy resources and their current importance, and discusses the implications of our increasing rate of energy use. He considers the widespread acceptance by scientists and policy makers that our energy systems must reduce emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, and looks forward to the radical changes in fuel technology that will be necessary to continue to provide energy supplies in a sustainable manner, and extend access across the developing world. Considering the impact of changing to an environmentally benign and low-carbon energy system, Jenkins also looks at future low-carbon energy systems which would use electricity from a variety of renewable energy sources, as well as the role of nuclear power in our energy use.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Energy systems 2: Fossil fuels 3: Electricity systems 4: Nuclear power 5: Renewable energy systems 6: Future energy systems Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisOffers insights in energy efficient building from the world over, providing a multi-faceted overview of the energy efficient architecture. This title covers issues as daylighting, LED lighting, integrating renewables such as solar thermal and cooling, LEED and similar certification efforts, net-zero and close-zero structures, and more.Trade Review"Paying particular attention to the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, architects and related professionals provide a reference to environmentally sustainable buildings for student and practicing architects. The topics include five case studies of low energy approaches to design-led schemes, residential deep energy retrofits in cold climates, new and existing case studies in Dubai, minimum energy housing in Cuba, daylighting..." --Reference & Research Book News, December 2013Table of ContentsPART I- METHODS & MATERIALS Sustainable Energy & Architecture Key Performance Characteristics of Sustainable Buildings Building Materials and Their Lifecycles Experiential Sustainability in the Corporate Environment Low Energy Approaches to Design-Led Schemes Deep Energy Retrofits for Existing Houses Daylighting The LED Lighting Revolution PART II- INT’L CASE STUDIES Dutch Efforts Toward Sustainable Built Environment Energy Efficiency Building Measures in Sweden Energy Efficient Buildings for the Sustainable Built Environment in Dubai Minimum Energy Housing in Cuba Sustainable Mediterranean Architecture PART III- ENERGY SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS IN CONTEXT ECOArchitects Sustainable Architecture in Cultural Context Learning from the Energy Efficient Past to Shape the Future Energy Efficient Buildings for the Sustainable Built Environment in Dubai Minimum Energy Housing in Cuba Sustainable Mediterranean Architecture PART III- ENERGY SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS IN CONTEXT ECOArchitects Sustainable Architecture in Cultural Context Learning from the Energy Efficient Past to Shape the Future

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Book SynopsisCommand and Control interweaves the minute-by-minute story of an accident at a missile silo in rural Arkansas, where a single crew struggled to prevent the explosion of the most powerful nuclear warhead ever built by the United States, with a historical narrative that spans more than fifty years. It depicts the urgent effort to ensure that nuclear weapons can''t be stolen, sabotaged, used without permission, or detonated inadvertently. Schlosser also looks at the Cold War from a new perspective, offering history from the ground up, telling the stories of bomber pilots, missile commanders, maintenance crews, and other ordinary servicemen who risked their lives to avert a nuclear holocaust. Drawing on recently declassified documents and interviews with men who designed and routinely handled nuclear weapons, Command and Control takes readers into a terrifying but fascinating world that, until now, has been largely hidden from view.Trade ReviewSo damnably readable. It drives the vision of a world trembling on the edge of a fatal precipice deep into your mind ... a piece of work of the deepest import, with the multilayered density of an ambitiously conceived novel -- John Lloyd * Financial Times *Do you really want to read about the thermonuclear warheads that are still aimed at the city where you live? Do you really need to know about the appalling security issues that have dogged nuclear weapons in the 70 years since their invention? Yes, you do. In Schlosser's hands it is a reading treat ... he's a natural genius -- Jonathan Franzen * Guardian, Books of the Year *Part techno-thriller, part careful historical investigation ... beautifully written and impressively researched -- Gerard DeGroot * Daily Telegraph *Brilliant, gripping, chilling -- Steven Shapin * London Review of Books *The author of Fast Food Nation does for the American nuclear industry what he did for industrial food production * Economist, Books of the Year *Eric Schlosser detonates a truth bomb in Command and Control * Vanity Fair *Deeply reported, deeply frightening . . . a techno-thriller of the first order * Los Angeles Times *An excellent journalistic investigation of the efforts made since the first atomic bomb was exploded, outside Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945, to put some kind of harness on nuclear weaponry. By a miracle of information management, Schlosser has synthesized a huge archive of material, including government reports, scientific papers, and a substantial historical and polemical literature on nukes, and transformed it into a crisp narrative covering more than fifty years of scientific and political change. And he has interwoven that narrative with a hair-raising, minute-by-minute account of an accident at a Titan II missile silo in Arkansas, in 1980, which he renders in the manner of a techno-thriller . . . Command and Control is how nonfiction should be written -- Louis Menand * The New Yorker *A devastatingly lucid and detailed new history of nuclear weapons in the U.S. . . . fascinating -- Lev Grossman * Time *Command and Control ranks among the most nightmarish books written in recent years; and in that crowded company it bids fair to stand at the summit. It is the more horrific for being so incontrovertibly right and so damnably readable. Page after relentless page, it drives the vision of a world trembling on the edge of a fatal precipice deep into your reluctant mind . . . a work with the multilayered density of an ambitiously conceived novel . . . Schlosser has done what journalism does at its best when at full stretch: he has spent time - years - researching, interviewing, understanding and reflecting to give us a piece of work of the deepest import * Financial Times *Perilous and gripping . . . Schlosser skillfully weaves together an engrossing account of both the science and the politics of nuclear weapons safety . . . The story of the missile silo accident unfolds with the pacing, thrill and techno details of an episode of 24 * San Francisco Chronicle *Disquieting but riveting . . . fascinating . . . Schlosser's readers (and he deserves a great many) will be struck by how frequently the people he cites attribute the absence of accidental explosions and nuclear war to divine intervention or sheer luck rather than to human wisdom and skill. Whatever was responsible, we will clearly need many more of it in the years to come * New York Times Book Review *Easily the most unsettling work of nonfiction I've ever read, Schlosser's six-year investigation of America's 'broken arrows' (nuclear weapons mishaps) is by and large historical-this stuff is top secret, after all-but the book is beyond relevant. It's critical reading in a nation with thousands of nukes still on hair-trigger alert . . . Command and Control reads like a character-driven thriller as Schlosser draws on his deep reporting, extensive interviews, and documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act to demonstrate how human error, computer glitches, dilution of authority, poor communications, occasional incompetence, and the routine hoarding of crucial information have nearly brought about our worst nightmare on numerous occasions * Mother Jones *A powerful mix of history, politics, and technology, told with impressive authority * Independent *Eric Schlosser brings the investigative rigour of his big hit Fast Food Nation to this overview of our global nuclear arsenal * Herald *

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Book Synopsis*WINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2018**WINNER OF THE PUSHKIN HOUSE BOOK PRIZE 2019*''As moving as it is painstakingly researched. . . a cracking read'' Viv Groskop, Observer''A riveting account of human error and state duplicity. . . rightly being hailed as a classic'' Hannah Betts, Daily TelegraphOn 26 April 1986 at 1.23am 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 trTrade ReviewAn insightful and important book, that often reads like a good thriller, and that exposes the danger of mixing powerful technology with irresponsible politics -- Yuval Noah Harari, author of SapiensAs moving as it is painstakingly researched, this book is a tour de force and a cracking read. . . Without losing any detail or nuance, Plokhy has a knack for making complicated things simple while still profound -- Viv Groskop * Observer *A work of deep scholarship and powerful stroytelling. Plokhy is the master of the telling detail -- Victor Sebestyen * Sunday Times *A compelling history of the 1986 disaster and its aftermath. . . Plokhy's well-paced narrative plunges the reader into the sweaty, nervous tension of the Chernobyl control room -- Daniel Beer * Guardian *The first comprehensive history of the Chernobyl disaster. . . here at last is the monumental history the disaster deserves -- Julie McDowall * The Times *Plokhy, a Harvard professor of Ukrainian background, is ideally placed to tell the harrowing story of Chernobyl. . . he has an immense knowledge of Russian and Ukrainian history and maintains the highest standards of scholarship -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *A meticulous account of the disaster - and how the Soviet authorities tried to cover it up. . . A worthy winner of this year's Baillie Gifford prize for nonfiction -- Robbie Millen * The Times Books of the Year *A riveting account of human error and state duplicity. . . rightly being hailed as a classic -- Hannah Betts * Daily Telegraph *A masterful retelling. . . Mr Plokhy's book will endure as a definitive history * Economist *

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Book SynopsisCHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY SUNDAY TIMES AND HISTORY TODAY''Absolutely stunning. . . a formidable achievement. A six-part historical thriller that is essential reading for both our politicians and the ordinary citizen'' Kai BirdBest-selling historian Serhii Plokhy returns with an illuminating exploration of the atomic age through the history of six nuclear disasters In 2011, a 43-foot-high tsunami crashed into a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. In the following days, explosions would rip buildings apart, three reactors would go into nuclear meltdown, and the surrounding area would be swamped in radioactive water. It is now considered one of the costliest nuclear disasters ever. But Fukushima was not the first, and it was not the worst. . .In Atoms and Ashes, acclaimed historian Serhii Plokhy tells the tale of the six nuclear disasters that shook the world: Bikini Atoll, Kyshtym, Windscale, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. Based on wide-ranging research and witness testimony, Plokhy traces the arc of each crisis, exploring in depth the confused decision-making on the ground and the panicked responses of governments to contain the crises and often cover up the scale of the catastrophe.As the world increasingly looks to renewable and alternative sources of energy, Plokhy lucidly argues that the atomic risk must be understood in explicit terms, but also that these calamities reveal a fundamental truth about our relationship with nuclear technology: that the thirst for power and energy has always trumped safety and the cost for future generations.Trade ReviewA timely and enthralling study of the atomic age and its perils . . . a meticulously researched history -- Lawrence Freedman * Financial Times *A superbly crafted but enormously frightening history of nuclear disasters . . . without ever preaching, Plokhy constructs a formidable case for consigning nuclear power to the past -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *Plokhy's gripping, measured accounts of human error and staggering heroism in the face of the terrifying forces of nuclear power get under the skin -- Simon Ings * The Telegraph *Frightening . . . With catastrophic climate change bearing down on us, nuclear power has been promoted by some as an obvious solution, but this sobering history urges us to look hard at that bargain for what it is -- Jennifer Szalai * New York Times *A revealing tour of some of the most terrifying experiences involving nuclear power. Plokhy excels in unpacking the human and systemic factors that contribute to nuclear disasters * Nature *Gripping . . . Plokhy combines newspaper interviews, memoirs, government reports and secondary sources to give a vivid account of the perils of nuclear power * TLS *Expertly concise. . . this account of the downhill slide of atomic power since its heyday in the 1950s illustrates why it can never be the solution to global heating -- Robin McKie * Observer *Absolutely stunning. A formidable achievement. Plokhy has written a six-part historical thriller that is essential reading for both our politicians and the ordinary citizen. We have survived the Nuclear Age for three-quarters of a century, but this book calmly reminds us that accidents happen?and will surely happen again. His stories of nuclear accidents are riveting and frightening -- Kai Bird, co-author of American Prometheus

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Book SynopsisHow did Andrei Sakharov, a theoretical physicist and the acknowledged father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, become a human rights activist and the first Russian to win the Nobel Peace Prize? In his later years, Sakharov noted in his diary that he was simply a man with an unusual fate. To understand this deceptively straightforward statement by an extraordinary man, The World of Andrei Sakharov, the first authoritative study of Andrei Sakharov as a scientist as well as a public figure, relies on previously inaccessible documents, recently declassified archives, and personal accounts by Sakharov''s friends and colleagues to examine the real context of Sakharov''s life. In the course of doing so, Gennady Gorelik answers a fascinating question, whether the Soviet hydrogen bomb was really fathered by Sakharov, or whether it was based on stolen American secrets. Gorelik concludes that while espionage did initiate the Soviet effort, the Russian hydrogen bomb was invented independently. GorelikTrade ReviewWith its wider perspectives on the institutions and realities of Sakharov's age, this book should take a rightful place...among front displays of books about science, public policy and society...Through the example of the Soviet Union and its dissident hero Andrei Sakharov, Gorelik and Bouis have made an invaluable contribution to the universal conversation about morality and science. * The Moscow Times *Table of ContentsPart I: From Tsarist Russia to the Tsardom of Soviet Physics 1: The Emergence of Soviet Physics and the Birth of FIAN 2: Leonid Mandelshtam: The Teacher and His School 3: The Year 1937 Part II: Intra-Atomic, Nuclear, and Thermonuclear 4: The Moral Underpinnings of the Soviet Atomic Project 5: Andrei Sakharov, Tamm's Graduate Student 6: Sergei Vavilov: The President of the Academy of Science 7: Nuclear Physics under Beria's Command 8: Russian Physics at the height of Cosmopolitanism 9: The Hydrogen Bomb at FIAN Part III: In The Nuclear Archipelago 10: The Installation 11: The "Heroic" Work at the Installation 12: Theoretical Physicists in Soviet Practice 13: The Physics of Social Responsibility 14: From Military Physics to Peaceful Cosmology 15: World Peace and World Science 16: Reflections on Intellectual Freedom in 1968 Part IV: A humanitarian Physicist 17: Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn: The Physics and Geometry of Russian History 18: On the Other Side 19: Andrei and Lusya 20: Freedom and responsibility

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Book SynopsisThe near meltdown in 1979 at Three Mile Island, America, created a crisis of confidence over safety nuclear power industry. This work analyzes how the industry stabilized itself through a complete transformation in the safety standards, operation and management of nuclear facilities in America.

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Book SynopsisThis study looks at the world of political conflict surrounding the Commonwealth Edison Company's nuclear power plant construction programme in northern Illinois during the 1980s. It examines the theory that planning can best be thought of as a form of persuasive storytelling.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Tables Preface Acknowledgments Prelude: A Strange Place, an Alien Language 1: The Irony of Modernist Planning 2: The Argumentative or Rhetorical Turn in Planning 3: The Modernist Institution and Rhetoric of Regulated Natural Monopoly 4: Commonwealth Edison's Ambitious Nuclear Power Expansion Plan, 1973- 1986 5: The Best Deal for Illinois Consumers? Assessing Commonwealth Edison's "Negotiated Settlement" 6: Edison Completes Its Nuclear Power Expansion Plan, But Who Will Pay for the Last of It? 7: Precinct Captains at the Nuclear Switch? Exploring Chicago's Electric Power Options 8: Survey Research as a Trope in Electric Power Planning Arguments 9: Precinct Captains at the Nuclear Switch? The Mayor's Hand Turns up Empty 10: Frozen in a Passionate Embrace: Allocating Pain, Allocating Blame 11: The Plateau in the Web: Planning as Persuasive Storytelling within a Web of Relationships Postlude: E-mail to a Friend Notes References Illustration Credits Index

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Book SynopsisThis study looks at the world of political conflict surrounding the Commonwealth Edison Company's nuclear power plant construction programme in northern Illinois during the 1980s. It examines the theory that planning can best be thought of as a form of persuasive storytelling.

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Book SynopsisA study of the nuclear theme in Japanese intellectual and artistic life, recounting the history of Japanese public discourse around Hiroshima and Nagasaki from August 6, 1945, to the present day. It studies works from the earliest survivor writers up to Japanese intellectuals writing today.Table of ContentsPreface A Note on the Illustrations Introduction 1: Atrocity into Words 2: Genre and Post-Hiroshima Representation 3: The Three Debates 4: Hara Tamiki and the Documentary Fallacy 5: Poetry Against Itself 6: Ota Yoko and the Place of the Narrator 7: Oe Kenzaburo: Humanism and Hiroshima 8: Ibuse Masuji: Nature, Nostalgia, Memory 9: Nagasaki and the Human Future 10: The Atomic, the Nuclear, and the Total: Oda Makoto 11: Concluding Remarks: And Then Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisMore than a decade after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, what we are witnessing is not a Second Nuclear Age there is no post-atomic but an uncanny, quiet return of the nuclear threat that so vividly animated the Cold War era. The renewed threat of nuclear proliferation, public complacency regarding weapons stockpiles, and the lack of a single functioning long-term repository after seventy years and thousands of tonnes of nuclear waste reveals the industry's capacity for self-reinvention abetted by an ever-present capacity to forget. More than fabulously textual, as Jacques Derrida described it, the protean, unbound, and unending materiality of the nuclear is here to stay: resistance is crucial.Toxic Immanence introduces contemporary interdisciplinary perspectives that resist and decolonize the nuclear. Contributors highlight the prevalence and irrationality of slow violence and colonial governance as elements of the contemporary nuclear age. They propose a reaTrade Review“The first major collection of scholarship on nuclear energy humanities, …Toxic Immanence succeeds in setting the contours for a precise sector of study, while also bridging it to the well-established academic disciplines of environmental humanities, gender and sexuality studies, and critical Anthropocene studies, to name only a few.” H-Environment“Toxic Immanence succeeds in setting the contours for a precise sector of study, while also bridging it to the well-established academic disciplines of environmental humanities, gender and sexuality studies, and critical Anthropocene studies, to name only a few.” H-Environment

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Book SynopsisOn March 28, 1979, the worst nuclear reactor accident in U.S. history occurred at the Three Mile Island power plant. In this innovative study, Natasha Zaretsky uses the near-meltdown to shed new light on the era’s political realignments. Radiation Nation uncovers the surprising bodily and ecological dimensions of post-Vietnam conservatism.Trade ReviewThis is an epic book, speaking to grand stakes. Centered on Three Mile Island, it is actually a chronicle of postwar America, touching on everything from atomic-age anxieties, to declining faith in expertise, to the long-grindng pessimism of the 'anthropocene.' It is, in short, brilliant, among the best works of history I have read in years. -- Jeremy Varon, the New SchoolTable of ContentsList of IllustrationsList of AbbreviationsPrefaceIntroduction1. The Culture of Dissociation and the Rise of the Unborn2. The Accident and the Political Transformation of the 1970s3. Creating a Community of Fate at Three Mile Island4. The Second Cold War and the Extinction ThreatConclusionNotesBibliographyAcknowledgmentsIndex

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Nobel Prize in Literature''Desperately important and impossible to put down. It is timeless. . . what shines clear from the testimonies is love - love which can make you do the most spectacular things '' Sheena Patel, Observer''- A new translation of Voices from Chernobyl based on the revised version -In April 1986 a series of explosions shook the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Flames lit up the sky and radiation escaped to contaminate the land and poison the people for years to come. While officials tried to hush up the accident, Svetlana Alexievich spent years collecting testimonies from survivors - clean-up workers, residents, firefighters, resettlers, widows, orphans - crafting their voices into a haunting oral history of fear, anger and uncertainty, but also dark humour and love. A chronicle of the past and a warning for our nuclear future, Chernobyl Prayer shows what it is like to bear witness, and remember in a world that wants you to forget.''Beautifully written. . . heart-breaking'' - Arundhati Roy, Elle ''One of the most humane and terrifying books I''ve ever read'' - Helen Simpson, ObserverTrade ReviewAbsolutely essential and heartbreaking reading. There's a reason Ms. Alexievich won a Nobel Prize -- Craig Mazin, creator of the HBO series ChernobylDesperately important and impossible to put down. It is timeless and has sparked so much thought about infinity, sacrifice, love and unspeakable grief. . . what shines clear from the testimonies is love - love which can make you do the most spectacular things -- Sheena Patel * Observer *A beautifully written book, it's been years since I had to look away from a page because it was just too heart-breaking to go on. Give me beautiful prose and I'll follow you anywhere -- Arundhati Roy * Elle *A collage of oral testimony that turns into the psycho­biography of a nation not shown on any map... The book leaves radiation burns on the brain -- Julian Barnes * Guardian *Absolutely fantastic -- Karl Ove KnausgaardA searing mix of eloquence and wordlessness... From her interviewees' monologues she creates history that the reader, at whatever distance from the events, can actually touch -- Julian Evans * Daily Telegraph *One of the most humane and terrifying books I've ever read -- Helen Simpson * Observer *Alexievich's documentary approach makes the experiences vivid, sometimes almost unbearably so - but it's a remarkably democratic way of constructing a book... When you consider the extent to which she has been traversing the irradiated landscape, you realise she has put herself on the line in a way very few authors ever do -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *A moving piece of polyphony, skilfully assembled from what must have been a huge mass of material... We are living in Alexievich's 'age of disasters'. This haunting book offers us at least some ways of thinking about that predicament -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * New Statesman *This masterly new translation by Anna Gunin and Arch Tait retains the nerve and pulse of the Russian * TLS *Alexievich assembles the previously silenced or unsung heroes into a chorus that has the power to move, stun and inspire awe. The result is a remarkable oral history, an essential read -- Malcolm Forbes * Herald Scotland *Not merely a work of documentation but of excavation, of revealed meaning. It is hard to imagine how anyone in the West will read these cantos of loss and not feel a sense of communion, of a shared humanity -- Andrew Meier * The Nation *Alexievich serves no ideology, only an ideal: to listen closely enough to the ordinary voices of her time to orchestrate them into extraordinary books -- Philip Gourevitch * New Yorker *Alexievich has become one of my heroes -- Atul GawandeAwarding the Nobel Prize for Literature to Svetlana Alexievich is a brilliant choice that recalibrates the status of "non-fiction" in the literary canon -- Arifa Akbar * Independent *Through her books and her life itself, Alexievich has gained probably the world's deepest, most eloquent understanding of the post-Soviet condition -- Masha Gessen * New Yorker *Alexievich retreats into the wings to let her subjects speak. But this is the art that conceals art. Her editor's flair for selection, contrast and emphasis, her almost cinematic touch with cuts, pans and close-ups, make her a documentary virtuoso -- Boyd Tonkin * Spectator *Her interviews go on for hours. She goes back for more. She transcribes. She discards three-quarters of her material. She polishes. She takes pains to convey the cadence of a person's words. It shows. The distilled work goes deep into the subject. She is after the ephemeral; the emotion behind written history; the "history of the soul." Here, she believes, is where the truth lies -- Vanora Bennett * Prospect *This masterly new translation by Anna Gunin and Arch Tait retains the nerve and pulse of the Russian, conveying the angst and confusion of the narrators -- Serguei Alex. Oushakine * Times Literary Supplement *The last book that made me cry... incredible -- Joe Dunthorne * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisAn updated edition of a guide to the basic science of climate change, and a call to action.The vast majority of scientists agree that human activity has significantly increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere—most dramatically since the 1970s. Yet global warming skeptics and ill-informed elected officials continue to dismiss this broad scientific consensus. In this updated edition of his authoritative book, MIT atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel outlines the basic science of global warming and how the current consensus has emerged. Although it is impossible to predict exactly when the most dramatic effects of global warming will be felt, he argues, we can be confident that we face real dangers. Emanuel warns that global warming will contribute to an increase in the intensity and power of hurricanes and flooding and more rapidly advancing deserts. But just as our actions have created the looming crisis, so too might they avert it. Emanuel calls for urge

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Book SynopsisA groundbreaking study of how emotions motivate attempts to counter species loss.This groundbreaking book brings together environmental history and the history of emotions to examine the motivations behind species conservation actions. In Recovering Lost Species in the Modern Age, Dolly Jørgensen uses the environmental histories of reintroduction, rewilding, and resurrection to view the modern conservation paradigm of the recovery of nature as an emotionally charged practice. Jørgensen argues that the recovery of nature—identifying that something is lost and then going out to find it and bring it back—is a nostalgic practice that looks to a historical past and relies on the concept of belonging to justify future-oriented action. The recovery impulse depends on emotional responses to what is lost, particularly a longing for recovery that manifests itself in such emotions as guilt, hope, fear, and grief. Jørgensen explains why emotional

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Book SynopsisThis text brings together in one single comprehensive reference, the fundamentals of radioactivity. It is timely and invaluable as the studies of environmental processes and the awareness of the impact of human activity on our environment are increasing.Table of ContentsPreface. 1. INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY. 2. NATURE OF RADIOACTIVITY. 3. INTERACTION OF RADIATION WITH MATTER. 4. BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION AND RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION. 5. MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE. 6. NUCLEAR POWER. 7. RELEASES OF RADIONUCLIDES FROM NON-NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRIES. 8. INSTRUMENTATION FOR RADIATION DETECTION AND MEASUREMENT. 9. MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES. 10. SAMPLING AND SAMPLE PREPARATION. 11. STATISTICAL TREATMENT OF RADIOACTIVITY MEASUREMENTS. 12. RADIOACTIVE SURVEYING AND REMOTE SENSING. 13. MODELLING THE DISPERSION OF RADIONUCLIDES IN THE ENVIRONMENT: AN INTRODUCTION TO MODELLING CONCEPTS. 14. MODELLING DISPERSION OF RADIONUCLIDES IN THE ATMOSPHERE. 15. MODELLING DISPERSION OF RADIONUCLIDES IN AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS. 16. ASSESSMENT OF RADIATION DOSES. APPENDIX 1. Acronyms Used in the Text. APPENDIX 2. Units, Terms and Conversion Factors for Radiation, Radioactivity and Related Areas. APPENDIX 3. Data for the Most Important Environmental Radionuclides. Bibliography. References. Index.

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Book SynopsisThis text brings together in one single comprehensive reference, the fundamentals of radioactivity. It is timely and invaluable as the studies of environmental processes and the awareness of the impact of human activity on our environment are increasing.Trade Review"…will also serve as a handbook for workers in the fields of radiochemical analysis and environmental modelling and for scientists, consultants and environmental health and pollution officers…" (International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Vol.84, No.14 – 15, 10 – 20 December 2004)Table of Contents1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY. 2 NATURE OF RADIOACTIVITY. 3 INTERACTION OF RADIATION WITH MATTER. 4 BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION AND RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION. 5 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE. 6 NUCLEAR POWER. 7 RELEASES OF RADIONUCLIDES FROM NON-NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRIES. 8 INSTRUMENTATION FOR RADIATION DETECTION AND MEASUREMENT. 9 MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES. 10 SAMPLING AND SAMPLE PREPARATION. 11 STATISTICAL TREATMENT OF RADIOACTIVITY MEASUREMENTS. 12 RADIOACTIVE SURVEYING AND REMOTE SENSING. 13 MODELLING THE DISPERSION OF RADIONUCLIDES IN THE ENVIRONMENT: AN INTRODUCTION TO MODELLING CONCEPTS. 14 MODELLING DISPERSION OF RADIONUCLIDES IN THE ATMOSPHERE. 15 MODELLING DISPERSION OF RADIONUCLIDES IN THE AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS. 16 ASSESSMENT OF RADIATION DOSES. APPENDIX 1 List of Acronyms used in the Text. APPENDIX 2 Units, Terms and Conversion Factors for Radiation, Radioactivity and Related Areas. APPENDIX 3 Data for the most important environmental radionuclides. References. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisThe disposal of radioactive waste is a central issue in the future of nuclear power and poses considerable technical, political and social issues. This book addresses these topics in an integrated fashion using performance assessment of the disposal concept as a unifying theme. Subjects addressed include: regulatory criteria; waste types, sources and characteristics; man-made or engineered barriers; the selection and evaluation of geological disposal media; the use of underground research laboratories; the movement of radionuclides in the biosphere; repository performance assessment tools and approaches; addressing uncertainty and spatial variability; assessing information from natural systems; and looking at radioactive waste in relation to other wastes. The book provides an up-to-date picture of radioactive waste disposal issues and will be of interest to scientists, engineers and consultants working in the nuclear industry and the environmental field.Table of ContentsWaste Characteristics. Repository and Barrier Concepts. The Near-Field. The Far-Field. The Biosphere and Radiological Effects. Selection of Waste Disposal Sites. Site Characterisation and URLs. Performance Assessment. Uncertainty and Confidence Building. Where Next. Index.

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Book SynopsisThis examination of the dynamics of international relations attempts to define the impact of both domestic and international politics on subjects as diverse as nuclear disarmament, human rights and trade.Table of ContentsPREFACE ABBREVIATIONS PART 1 ° INTRODUCTION I. Introduction: Integrating International and Domestic Theories of International Bargaining Andrew Moravcsik PART 2 ° SECURITY ISSUES 2. Dual Track and Double Trouble: The Two-Level Politics of INF Richard C. Eichenberg 3. The Political Economy of Security Agreements: The Linked Costs of Failure at Camp David Janice Gross Stein 4. East-West Bargaining Over Germany: The Search for Synergy in a Two-Level Game Jack Snyder 5. Armaments Among Allies: European Weapons Collaboration, 1975-1985 Andrew Moravcsik PART 3 ° ECONOMIC DISPUTES 6. The 1933 World Economic Conference as an Instance of Failed International Cooperation Barry Eichengreen and Marc Uzan 7. The Interaction of Domestic and International Politics: The Anglo-American Oil Negotiations and the International Civil Aviation Negotiations, 1943-1947 Helen Milner 8. International Threats and Internal Politics: Brazil, the European Community, and the United States, 1985-1987 ]ohn S. Odell 9. U.S.-Japan Negotiations on Construction and Semiconductors, 1985-1988: Building Friction and Relation-Chips Ellis S. Krauss PART 4 ·NORTH-SOUTH TENSIONS 10. The United States and Central America: Interlocking Debates Robert A. Pastor 11. U.S. Policy and Human Rights in Argentina and Guatemala, 1973-1980 Lisa L. Martin and Kathryn Sikkink 12. Bargaining with the IMF: Two-Level Strategies and Developing Countries Miles Kahler PART 5 ·CONCLUSION 13. Building an Integrative Approach to International and Domestic Politics: Reflections and Projections Peter B. Evans APPENDIX Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two-Level Games Robert D. Putnam CONTRIBUTORS INDEX

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Book SynopsisA radical geography of nuclear warfare.Trade Review'What's louder than an atom bomb? The deafening silence that surrounds the apathy our contemporary culture has for the prospect of nuclear annihilation. 'Disarming Doomsday' awakens our sensibilities to the symbolic and actual violence of nuclear war.' -- Simon Springer, author of 'The Anarchist Roots of Geography''A true gem - an unparalleled glimpse into the lives of global communities still deeply impacted by atomic technologies. Wonderful for teaching or developing a grounded understanding of this immense history' -- Stephanie A. Malin author of 'The Price of Nuclear Power: Uranium Communities and Environmental Justice''An informed and insightful account of contemporary nuclear issues which proposes a geographically-centred analysis of the causes and consequences of nuclear warfare' -- Rachel Woodward, author of 'Military Geographies'Table of ContentsList of Figures and Tables Series Preface Acknowledgements 1. The Radical Geography of Nuclear Warfare 2. A Secret History 3. The Mystery of the X-ray Hands 4. After Nuclear Imperialism 5. After Nuclear War 6. Strange Cartographies and War Games 7. Spaces of Irregularity 8. Spaces of Peace 9. Future War Zones Notes Index

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Book SynopsisA radical geography of nuclear warfare.Trade Review'What's louder than an atom bomb? The deafening silence that surrounds the apathy our contemporary culture has for the prospect of nuclear annihilation. 'Disarming Doomsday' awakens our sensibilities to the symbolic and actual violence of nuclear war.' -- Simon Springer, author of 'The Anarchist Roots of Geography''A true gem - an unparalleled glimpse into the lives of global communities still deeply impacted by atomic technologies. Wonderful for teaching or developing a grounded understanding of this immense history' -- Stephanie A. Malin author of 'The Price of Nuclear Power: Uranium Communities and Environmental Justice''An informed and insightful account of contemporary nuclear issues which proposes a geographically-centred analysis of the causes and consequences of nuclear warfare' -- Rachel Woodward, author of 'Military Geographies'Table of ContentsList of Figures and Tables Series Preface Acknowledgements 1. The Radical Geography of Nuclear Warfare 2. A Secret History 3. The Mystery of the X-ray Hands 4. After Nuclear Imperialism 5. After Nuclear War 6. Strange Cartographies and War Games 7. Spaces of Irregularity 8. Spaces of Peace 9. Future War Zones Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThe decline in central financing for Russia''s nuclear complex and the known interest of terrorist groups in acquiring fissile material and technologies, has made the state of Russia''s far-flung nuclear enterprises a pressing international issue. In this important volume, a group of leading US and Russian policy experts - drawing on extensive interviews with officials, facility personnel, and analysts in Russia''s regions - explores the intersecting problems of Russian nuclear insecurity and decentralization, including the growing influence of regional, political and economic forces. The work presents insights into both nuclear safety issues and post-Soviet intra-agency governance, as well as detailed case studies of critical nuclear regions: the Far East, the Urals, Siberia, and the Volga area. The volume also offers major new findings on the interface linking Russia''s evolving center-periphery relations, its ailing nuclear facilities, and the role played by foreign assistance pTrade Review'This book is a significant contribution to the field of Russian studies, political science, and economics, and will be of considerable interest to scholars in the field of nuclear proliferation. The authors - Russian and American - are all knowledgeable and many have direct experience in the nuclear field. The scholarship is of the highest quality, backed by authoritative sources. No other full-length work examines the nuclear issue in the context of Russia's regions. Preventing Nuclear Meltdown is a real contribution to our understanding of Russia's evolving federalism.' Charles E. Ziegler, University of Louisville, USA ’An interesting study not just of proliferation and Russian politics, but of the dynamics of federalism as well...Highly recommended.’ Choice '...the book makes a strong case for closer attention to the problems that nuclear facilities spread over the vast Russian territory have to deal with.' The Russian Review 'The book's strength lies in the depth of the research conducted and the importance of the topic being pursued...As a first, detailed study of this problem, this is an important work...These analysts have done a fine job laying the foundation for further empirical study and theorizing.' Slavic Review '...this book is one of those rare edited volumes that is extremely well researched and well thorught out with consistently high quality throughout that is a must read for those concerned with nuclear and/or Russian issues. It provides the reader with everything they need to know about Russia's nuclear complex but were afraid to ask (because some of the answers you may not wish to hear).' Slavonic and East European ReviewTable of ContentsContents: Introduction: Russia's nuclear regions, James Clay Moltz. Federal Nuclear Agencies and the Regions: Center-periphery relations and Russia's nuclear infrastructure, Dmitry Evstafiev and Vladimir A. Orlov; Russian nuclear regionalism at the Federal Center, Nikolai Sokov and Adam N. Stulberg; Minatom's regional strategy, Sonia Ben Ouagrham; The military, the regions, and nuclear weapons, Michael Jasinski. Case Studies of Russia's Nuclear Regions: Nuclear issues in the Far Eastern Federal Okrug, Cristina Chuen; Nuclear issues in the Volga Federal Okrug, Ivan Safranchuk; Nuclear issues in the Urals Federal Okrug, Elena Sokova; Nuclear issues in the Siberian Federal Okrug, Dmitry Kovchegin. The Experience of US Assistance Programs and Conclusions: The implementation of US nonproliferation assistance programs in Russia's regions, Michael Jasinski and Charles Thornton; Nuclear decentralization in Russia: lessons learned and new directions, Adam N. Stulberg; Index.

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Book SynopsisA timely contribution to understanding the policy challenges of relying on nuclear power.Trade Review"An ambitious and timely piece of work, Duane Bratt's book is a good resource for a historical overview of the nuclear policy context in the provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, and Alberta as well as certain aspects of the Canadian and international nuclear context." Great Plains Research

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Book SynopsisRobert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) is one of the few American scientists who have become public and controversial figures in the 20th century. This book aims to add a new dimension to the Oppenheimer story by offering a look at the private man behind the public figure.Trade Review“A beautifully organized collection of letters and reminiscences. . . . The editors have interviewed those who knew and worked with him, stirred in the necessary explanatory background, and produced an account, both scholarly and highly readable, which throws fresh light on a man who will probably always remain something of an enigma. Amid devotional defense and almost rabid attack, their book is a model of objectivity.”—New York Times Book Review“An intimate, carefully documented, and honest book.”—Scientific American“The first scholarly attempt to come to grips with the development of Oppenheimer’s elusive personality, it is all the more impressive because its many revealing letters and candid commentary were gathered from those who knew him best.”—Science“The editors have done a superb job in putting this material together and making it into a coherent narrative. . . . A mine of information for historians interested in Oppenheimer and his times, this volume also offers much new insight into his character.”—New Republic“A milestone in Oppenheimer scholarship. . . . The full measure of Oppenheimer the man, the scientist, and the public figure remains to be taken, but the publication of this rich volume will markedly aid the accomplishment of that ultimate and demanding task.”—Isis

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Book SynopsisIn 1951 the first atomic weapon was detonated over a section of desert known as Frenchman Flat in southern Nevada providing evidence of the Nevada Test Site's beginnings. This work discusses post-Cold War policy issues concerning the continued viability of that site for weapons testing.Trade Review"Bombs in the Backyard is a valuable addition to historical literature on the atomic age, providing scholars with a well-documented, comprehensive history of U.S. atomic testing and the political and health issues which have emerged as a result." -Journal of the Southwest; "Titus tells this painful story [of downwinders] with marvelous balance. She threads her way easily through the labyrinths of both the federal bureaucracy and the American legal system, and her explanations are models of lucidity." -Nevada Historical Society Quarterly"

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a history of radioecology, from World War II through to the critical years of the Cold War, finishing with a discussion of recent developments and future implications for the field. Drawing on a vast array of primary sources, the book reviews, synthesizes and discusses the implications of the ecological research supported by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) of the United States government, from World War II to the early 1970s. This was a critical period in the history of ecology, characterized by a transition from the older, largely descriptive studies of communities of plants and animals to the modern form of the science involving functional studies of energy flow and mineral cycling in ecosystems. This transition was in large part due to the development of radioecology, which was a by-product of the Cold War and the need to understand and predict the consequences of a nuclear war that was planned but has never occurred. The book draws on important case Table of ContentsPART 1 1. Introduction 2. Early Studies in Radioecology PART 2 3. The Pacific Proving Grounds 4. The Nevada Test Site 5. Alaska Coast 6. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory 7. El Verde, Puerto Rico 8. The Brookhaven National Laboratory 9. The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory PART 3 10. Radioecology Since the Cold War 11. Summary and Conclusions

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