Summary

“Part Two: The Death of an Empire” starts off with Chapter Ten, “The Cloud.” In Sweden, radioactive isotopes rained down, carried by the wind. At first, scientists picking up contamination readings thought one of their own plants had melted down, but readings coming in from all over the country indicated a weather event had brought radiation from another country. The USSR did not respond to any requests for information made either generally, or to their government in particular. Only when contamination was reported in several countries was the source traced to the Soviet Union. Even then, the government only put out an official statement when foreign papers began reporting exaggerated rumors. While this was going on, the effort to control the fire at the nuclear plant raged. More people were brought in to work, and lead was finally added to the...