Tunguska: A Siberian Mystery and Its Environmental Legacy

by Andy Bruno

In 1908, thunderous blasts and blazing fires from the sky descended upon the desolate Tunguska territory of Siberia. The explosion knocked down an area of forest larger than London and was powerful enough to obliterate Manhattan. The mysterious nature of the event has prompted a wide array of speculation and investigation, including from those who suspected that aliens from outer space had been involved. In this deeply researched account of the Tunguska explosion and its legacy in Russian society, culture, and the environment, Andy Bruno recounts the intriguing history of the disaster and researchers' attempts to understand it. Taking readers inside the numerous expeditions and investigations that have long occupied scientists, he foregrounds the significance of mystery in environmental history. His engaging and accessible account shows how the explosion has shaped the treatment of the landscape, how uncertainty allowed unusual ideas to enter scientific conversations, and how cosmic disasters have influenced the past and might affect the future.

Genres: History, Science, Nonfiction, Russia

324 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2022

Reviews

[Nataliya · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 1908 something odd happened.

Well, probably many odd things happened, but the event that brought about much eventual fascination happened in Siberia near the Tunguska river. Some giant explosion shook the ground and flattened the surrounding forest. Apparently the consensus is that it was a meteorite, but eventual expeditions (all delayed not only because of the remoteness and poor transportation, but political situation in the ensuing couple of decades) found no signs of an impact crater or meteorite fragments. The prevailing thought is atmospheric explosion of a cosmic body, most likely a meteorite, but over the century since the impact there have been quite a few ideas of what happened. (The best, of course, was the version that attributes Tunguska event to the atmospheric explosion of alien nuclear-powered aircraft).

”The members of Sakura believed that millennia ago the Japanese had created a technologically advanced society that had mastered nuclear power and space flight. Tunguska occurred, according to their scenario, when a group of Japanese-descended space travelers tried to return to their homeland in 1908 and experienced a devastating crash. The Sakura group had come to pay homage and hoped to be reunited with their brethren.”

Andy Bruno clearly knows a lot about what happened there. And he certainly doesn’t skim on details. Which normally I’d be good with, but something about this book makes it feel drier than usual, maybe because the detail overload gave it a scattered and unfocused feel. It was not easy to keep my attention on it, and my eyes just seem to slide off the pages. It just never ended up engaging me with an occasional exception here and there, but not enough to keep me from falling asleep trying to read it night after night.

I was unreasonably excited when I realized that the actual book ended about halfway in, and the rest was notes/bibliography. And that says it all about my engagement level with it.

For an established Tunguska enthusiast it will probably be a great read, but for a more casual reader it may end up just a bit too tedious.

2 stars. Not for me. But if you are into meteorite science, you may end up liking it a bit more than I did.

——————
——————

Thanks to NetGalley and Cambridge University Press for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

——————

Also posted on my blog.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you have a totally fascinating topic on your hands and you know you could talk about this for hours and hours. Well, that's great and I admire people with passion, but having one and writing a book about it are different things.
Without a doubt, the author has done meticulous work through a hundred years of archives trying to figure out what actually happened. The book is incredibly detailed. We go page by page through a number of expeditions, researchers, and even literary writers (Stanislaw Lem, Strugatsky brothers, and many others). Possible explanations are also discussed, which is great because the author not only discusses them but sets the historical and political background, which is very important if you want to understand why certain things happened the way they did.
All this is itself fascinating, yet somehow I found this book dry and just couldn´t get into it. It felt like an academic dissertation, rather than a fascinating story about a great mystery. It tired me.
The mystery of Tunguska remains unsolved and continues to inspire people to create new theories and new artwork. Will we ever know what happened in there?

[Ula Tardigrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember hearing stories about the Tunguska meteorite as a young child. It was probably the first scientific mystery that I have encountered. And finally my curiosity was satisfied, thanks to this thorough and very well researched book.

The author delivers answers to every possible question on that topic - he describes not only the catastrophe itself, quoting the amazing reports of native eyewitnesses, but also how the scientific community tried for decades to discover the true history of what happened and how the public relished this quest. It is written in a plain style that can sometimes be a bit too dry but the story is nevertheless fascinating and full of extraordinary characters.

Thanks to the publisher, Cambridge University Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Miriah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: I received this book as an ARC from Cambridge University Press.

In this book that author delves into the history and mystery surrounding the Tunguska event of 1908 and expeditions by Soviet researchers to find out what exactly happened.

Having only heard of this event through the “ancient aliens” series, I was intrigued about a new, more factual approach as to what happened.

The author uses historical records, journals, interviews, and their own personal experiences at the location in order to flesh out a comprehensive history of the lives of the people who were impacted and the researchers who worked to discover what actually occurred. Bruno also explores how Russian society and culture was shaped by this event.

The author brings us back to present day and beyond, discussing how “the history of both the Soviet Union as a whole and Tunguska as a phenomenon also indicates the need to look beyond capitalism to understand the full scope of ecological cataclysm.” Bruno takes a philosophical point of view, and how out own perceptions of planetary and global issues can trace back to this extraordinary event.

Overall, this was a delightful, if somewhat overly factual and not dramatized version of events that was a pleasure to read.

The primary audience for this book would be history buffs, people interested in conspiracy theories, ecologists, and philosophers.

[WorldconReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Tunguska", by historian Andy Bruno, PhD, is a deeply informative and well researched book on the famous Tunguska explosion in Siberia in 1908.

Weighing in at over 400 pages, this book was clearly a labor of love. The author, who is fluent in Russian, describes the Tunguska explosion, and what feels like the entire related history that resulted from this explosion. Including many expeditions, to this remote region, collaboration and battles between many researchers, along with the various conclusions and events related to the Tunguska region. In addition to extensive research based on primary and secondary sources in Russian, the author used resource at numerous worldwide institutions and museums, and interviewed over 30 people with firsthand knowledge of events that followed the explosion.

The book is a fascinating view into science and culture in Russia throughout the 1900's. Before reading the book I was familiar with the obvious details of the explosion, but was not aware of the depth of physical investigations that took place for the following century. It is thought provoking to learn how challenging something so simple as travel was to this remote location as recently as the 1920's. In many ways book was a real eye-opener.

I thank Andy Bruno and Cambridge Publishing for kindly sharing a temporary electronic review copy of this work.

[Ron Baumer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story regarding the Siberian meteor disaster. The author does a great job of explaining what occurred in an easily understandable format.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Llynnya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember years ago learning about the mystery that is the Tunguska Event years ago in science class then over the years by television, magazines and radio with various levels of credibility so couldn't resist this book when I saw it.

Andy Bruno gives us a well researched look at 100+ years of research, theories, political climates and personalities. While some theories may seem far fetched (a rogue black hole) he doesn't shy away from them.

I found this easy enough for me to read and enjoy without being dragged into details about every aspect of each bit of research.

The mystery still exists and unless something happens that produces the exact same results (or aliens show up
and take responsibility) it will probably remain a mystery.

I received this ARC from Cambridge University Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

#Tunguska #NetGalley

[Elisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Tunguska mystery has always fascinated me and I’ve read several theories about it. I was hoping that this book would clarify them for me but, unfortunately, it was heavy on the history and didn’t include as much science as I was expecting. There are a lot of facts about the politics of the time when the explosion took place, and there isn’t a definite explanation of what happened. I guess if no one knows for sure, it makes sense, but there is a whole chapter devoted to the “alien crash” theory, which was interesting but probably not real. There are mentions of the research that some teams have conducted, from measuring radiation to studying possible genetic abnormalities, but the author doesn’t go into them in as much detail as I would have wanted. Readers who enjoy historical books will probably like it more, I didn’t.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Cambridge University Press!

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An in-depth and detailed account of the 2908 Tunguska explosion in Siberia and its aftermath. Author Andy Bruno’s meticulous research is in evidence throughout and his detective work in impressive. Yet, to date, no generally agreed explanation has been found and the event remains a mystery. Bruno goes into all the suggestions and theories and chronicles the many expeditions made to the site. Much of the book is indeed fascinating, especially for a Tunguska novice like myself. I also found the insight it gave me into the politics and culture of Soviet Russia particularly interesting. However, as a casual reader rather than a deeply involved one, I found the narrative somewhat repetitive and it became tedious after a while. I was actually quite relieved when I came to the end – which actually occurs half way through as the second part of the book is notes and bibliography. I was beginning to flag, I admit. Nevertheless, this is a worthy addition to Tunguska studies and Bruno is to be congratulated on his commitment to the subject.

[Carlos Mejía · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruno explores the 1908 explosion that took place in the taiga, near Vanavara. The thorough work with sources not only covers the first testimonial accounts by Evenki witnesses, but also the relations with the changing political landscape in Russia, the first expeditions to the explosion site, the theories, the development of the inquiry into the cosmic nature of the explosion as well as the way those inquiries were impacted by and impacted the taiga environment. This is a thoroughly engaging exploration into how an environment ended up being defined by a mystery that captured the imagination of the entire world.

[Andrea Wenger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explores the astronomical, geological, ecological, historical, ethnographic, and political implications of the Tunguska impact event of 1908. It’s possibly too big a topic for one book to undertake. Enthusiasts will find much to enjoy here. Casual readers might find it overwhelming.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Cathie Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is clearly very well researched but even I, who generally likes science and history nonfiction, found it to be overly dry in some points. It could have perhaps benefitted from a bit more narrative and bit fewer footnotes, but I imagine more 'hardcore' Tunguska hobbyists would enjoy it quite a bit.

[SSC · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first five chapters were informative and enjoyable. However, it waned a little bit from there. The writing is clear and enjoyed the stories from the Evenki and early days of the expeditions. I would have preferred an ending based on today’s scientific advancement and any conclusions we can draw from rather than a discussion on climate change in Siberia to wrap it up.

[Praveen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most comprehensive account on the Tunguska phenomenon. From a scientific to a socio economic perspective. Andy Bruno's has done a terrific job.