nuclear

Any book on nuclear energy can potentially be a snooze, even to another engineer. However Scott holds the jargon to a minimum, and the breadth of his discourse on energy, technology and modern society is impressive. If you stick with him, he takes you on a fascinating journey of energy, ranging from how stars go nova and seed the cosmos to the impact of technology (or the lack thereof) on our quality of life and expectations for the near future. And he does it in layman's terms sprinkled with excellent, often humorous analogies and factoids. My copy is now liberally highlighted. If you've never had a physics or engineering course and want to 'Know Nukes', this is a good place to start. For anyone involved professionally in communicating to the lay public about energy and it's role in modern society, this book is a must.

This book gives a solid, detailed explanation of nuclear power, and compares it to other forms of power generation, including alternative and renewable sources. If you are looking for detailed information, and you are familiar with the subject, this is a good book. If you are not familiar the subject, you may want to start with a simpler book. It is certainly written for the layman, and includes little or no mathematics. Nevertheless, it contains detailed science based discussions.

For a long time, I wasn't in favor of nuclear power. I'd grown up during Three Mile Island and the Chornobyl accidents. I was pretty secure in my feelings on the topic until I read this book!

Scott Heaberlin gives readers the context they need to really understand the power situation in the U.S. He delves into the need for energy and why can't we just go back to the good ol' days. He also discusses technology and its place in our world. He takes the topic of nuclear safety head-on, giving one of the better accounts of what happened at Three Mile Island and Chornobyl. He also discusses "green technologies" such as solar and wind power.

Heaberlin's writing style is conversational, but he backs up his opinions and ideas with scientific and social references. He has obviously done his homework.

Who should buy this book? People that live near a nuclear power reactor, folks with family or friends that work at a plant, as well as reporters and other media pros that need additional reference material.