Currently reading
Eleven
A Month in the Country
A Tale of the Dispossessed: A Novel
Mesabi Pioneers
The Crusades Through Arab Eyes
Island of a Thousand Mirrors
The Rise of Nuclear Fear
This book by a cultural historian is, as he says in his afterword, not about our actual problems, but the things that distract us from them. And in that sense, I guess, I was somewhat disappointed in it. I was just hoping for some more scientific information. But it is what it is. And it's really well written. Lots of, well, cultural information.But I wouldn't say it's balanced. He does characterize the two sides of the nuclear debate as the antinuclear movement and rational thought. It feels more than a little condescending. Every time he gets close to admitting that nuclear power does contain some little kind of threat, he is quick to point out that other industrial accidents have killed more. It's true. But not balanced.
But again, lots of scholarly info about the cultural context of nuclear energy in a scholarly, dry tone. Good if you're looking for a resource for this kind of thing.
