Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Preface 1. The Nuclear Power Debate 2. The Regulation of Nuclear Power 3. Defense in Depth 4. Wednesday, March 28, 1979: "This Is the Biggie" 5. Thursday, March 29: "The Danger Is Over for People Off Site" 6. Friday, March 30: "Going to Hell in a Handbasket" 7. Saturday, March 31: "You're Causing a Panic!" 8. Sunday, April 1: "Look What We Have Done to These Fine People" 9. The Immediate Aftermath of the Accident 10. The Long-Term Effects of Three Mile Island Notes Essay on Sources Index

About the Author

J. Samuel Walker is the historian of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. His previous books include Permissible Dose: A History of Radiation Protection in the Twentieth Century (California, 2000) and Containing the Atom: Nuclear Regulation in a Changing Environment, 1963-1971 (California, 1992).

Reviews

"Walker has produced a superb and balanced account, one of the few that attempts to set both the accident and the efforts to understand and cope with it into a broader historical and regulatory context." - Gene I. Rochlin, Science (aaas) "[A] day-by-day breakdown of the accident and the reaction from politicians, media and the public, all told with simplicity and a harsh poignancy." - Simon Garfield, Financial Times "Reminiscent in its capacity to grip the imagination of the accounts of the Cuban missile crisis." - Frank Gray, World Energy Review"