Walt Patterson

The edition I read was completed in 1982 with a postscript from 1985. Obviously this is limiting for what is, in part, a science and politics book, but in this case it didn't feel particularly problematic.

Much of the most interesting material in this book is around the history of the civil nuclear industry and its roots and complex interactions with the military nuclear programmes of some of the world's most powerful countries.

There is a significant section devoted to providing a grounding in the various reactor designs, which in my experience was a little dry, but is useful foundational study to make the subsequent chapters comprehensible.

From there on the book really comes into its own. It carefully examines each of the many facets of the nuclear industry in turn, from technical to environmental to commercial. The conclusions one draws are not wholly positive about the nuclear industry and to some extent that appears to correlate with the views of Patterson himself: a nuclear physicist who worked for Friends of the Earth from 1972 well into the 1980s. The information is presented without melodrama, but doesn't spare the gory details either, some of which are difficult reading. On balance he seems to have been on the money with his view of the nuclear industry's prospects, at least until the Chinese expansion of the last decade or so. That expansion itself might leave you with some concerns after completing this book.

Overall I found Nuclear Power a very worthwhile read with a good balance of science, politics and economics delivered with as much balance as is reasonably possible given the complex subject matter.… (altro)