A very poorly written book about a very interesting topic. The author gives virtually no background about the topic. I kept waiting for an introductory chapter that would explain information like: exactly what is buried at Hanford? What was the history of the plant (more than one or two sentences long)? What are the specifics of the remediation efforts going on right now? What exactly is the structure of the DOE and contractors / subcontractors that work there, and what is the history of that?

I got halfway through the book before I realized that there was never going to be an introduction.

This giving no introduction repeats on a smaller level as well. For example: in one chapter, the author starts talking about pulse jet mixers, and literally gives no information about them. What are they? What problem do they solve? Why are they going to be problematic? Nothing, just a long argument about how horrible they'll be.

I'm not sure if the author is just SO familiar with the topics in this book that he assumes the reader has no need for any introduction, or if he just doesn't really know how to write a book.

Really, this book reads like getting into an elevator to hear two people arguing about something. They're very passionate in their back-and-forth, but you missed all of the lead up. You can't help but be interested and on their side, but you really have no details about the situation. This book is a missed opportunity. ( )