Mark: December 2009 Archives

I am excited to announce that my interview with former Chernobyl liquidator Sergei B. has been published by Greenhaven Press in David Nelson's new book, Perspectives on Modern World History: Chernobyl.

The Perspectives on Modern World History series provides basic historical information on significant events in modern world history. Each book presents controversies surrounding a specific event along with first-hand narratives.

Currently available from Amazon.com, Perspectives on Modern World History: Chernobyl is a compilation of essays and narratives/interviews about the Chernobyl disaster, the subsequent clean up efforts and aftermath of the world's worst nuclear accident.

In addition to my interview, the book contains contributions from the International Atomic Energy Agency, a number of familiar Chernobyl book authors and people connected with Chernobyl charities, including:

• Svetlana Alexeivich - author of Voices from Chernobyl
• Glenn Alan Cheney - author of Journey to Chernobyl and Chernobyl: The Ongoing Story of the World's Deadliest Nuclear Disaster
• David R. Marples - author of The Social Impact of the Chernobyl Disaster
• Grigori Medvedev - author of The Truth About Chernobyl
• Mary Mycio - author of Wormwood Forest
• Adi Roche - founder of Chernobyl Children's Project International
• Lyubov Sirota - my dear friend, poet and former Pripyat resident

The book's content includes:

• Annotated table of contents
• Introduction to the topic
• A world map
• Three chapters containing essays focusing on general background information, multinational perspectives and first-person narratives
• Full-color photographs, charts, maps and other illustrations
• Sidebars highlighting related topics
• Glossary of key terms, as appropriate
• Chronology
• Bibliography of books, periodicals and Web sites
• Index

I'm still waiting to get my contributor's complementary copy, but have seen the complete table of contents and it appears to be a very interesting book. I'll post a review after I get the chance to read it.

ISBN 13: 9780737745559
ISBN 10: 073774555X

A new exhibit about Chernobyl has opened in Moscow. ХОТИМ, ЧТОБЫ ПОМНИЛИ (Wanting Rememberance) includes a selection of documentary photographs and video installations showing life in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone before and after the 1986 accident at the V.I. Lenin Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

The exhibit includes work from five Ukrainian photographers and filmmakers, three Russian artists and my friend, Michael Forster Rothbart. The show has been organized by my friends at the public project Pripyat.com and coincides with the annual memorial day for Chernobyl liquidators (Veterans Day) on December 14.

"Wanting Remembrance" officially opens on December 2, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. The exhibit runs through December 13 in Gallery Creativity, on Taganskaya Street in Moscow.  See the official "Wanting Remembrance" exhibit website for more details( in Russian).

Other events include:

• Daily - Screenings of films by Rollan Sergienko, the director of many films about Chernobyl
• December 6, 2:00 p.m. - Roundtable discussion featuring former Pripyat residents
• December 12, 3:00 p.m. - Presentation about the current status and future of Chernobyl's New Safe Confinement structure
• December 13, 12:00 p.m. - Presentation: Understanding Radiation A to Z

A list of highlights from the exhibit schedule is available on the Pripyat.com website.