National Geographic photographer Gerd Ludwig visited Chernobyl nine times in the last 20 years. And he ventured farther than almost any other photographer into the 'belly of the beast' in an effort to document the worst nuclear disaster in history. The resulting book, with its powerful and disturbing images, is a reminder as Chernobyl disappears - literally. A second encasement, called the New Safe Confinement, will soon make the well-known image of the reactor that was destroyed by an explosion on 26 April 1986 disappear forever under a high-tech dome. But, says Gerd Ludwig, first and foremost it is a book to remember the people - those who lost their lives, and those who continue to suffer this tragedy. "I am driven by the duty to act in the name of silent victims, to give them a voice in my pictures. During my stay in Chernobyl I have met many desperate people who were prepared to make their suffering public - their only motive the hope to prevent a repeat of tragedies like that of Chernobyl."

In his essay, Mikhail Gorbachev reflects on the significance of the events at Chernobyl in the light of the political developments that would lead to the peaceful end of the Cold War.

(The Long Shadow of Chernobyl, 2014)

HIGHLIGHTS
- Hardcover with a slipcase, 11×12 inches
- 118 photographs on 252 pages
- Trilingual in English, German, and French
- Essay by Mikhail Gorbachev
- Quotes from Voices from Chornobyl by Svetlana Alexievich
- Divided into 4 chapters: Victims, Pripyat, The Zone, and Reactor #4
- Redacted CIA documents, a map, and additional resources
- Published by Edition Lammerhuber in Vienna, Austria

Purchase The Long Shadow of Chernobyl Photo Book

THE ZONE
In the Exclusion Zone, elderly returnees came back to live out their lives on their own soil, despite the radioactive contamination.

REACTOR #4
The heart of the catastrophe—the damaged Reactor #4—stands as a warning against human hubris, serving as a reminder that not everything that is technologically possible is also wise.

PRIPYAT
The crumbling city Pripyat is marked by post-apocalyptic scenes of abandonment – trees growing through streets, schools rotting, and apartment buildings littered with the personal belongings left behind by those who hastily fled their homes in fear.

VICTIMS
At the core of Ludwig’s photographs are the people who continue to suffer this tragedy – they exposed their suffering in the hope of preventing future tragedies like Chornobyl.

RESOURCES
Redacted CIA documents, a map, detailed captions, a personal essay by Gerd Ludwig, and additional resources give readers in-depth information about the disaster in English, German, and French.

CONTRIBUTORS
An essay by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev provides historical context, and quotes from the book Voices from Chornobyl, by award-winning author Svetlana Alexievich, provide first-hand accounts of the disaster.

Purchase The Long Shadow of Chernobyl Photo Book