This book primarily concerns the medical aftereffects of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, although it also describes the accident and its environmental, cultural, and social consequences. It provides a detailed description of the Chernobyl facility and its workings, a comprehensive description of the minute-to-minute events of the accident and the immediate response, political aftereffects, and extensive coverage of medical effects up to 10 years after the catastrophe. One chapter contains the first English translation of testimony by nuclear scientist Valery Legasov about problems which contributed to the disaster. The book includes a glossary and many illustrations: tables, maps, graphs, diagrams, political cartoons, and photographs, including color plates. It is written in the highly technical language of a medical physicist.