Proving the Principle: A History of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, 1949-1999

by Susan M. Stacy

348 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 2000

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a history of the INEL, the site of numerous nuclear reactors - including the only deadly nuclear accident in the US. It made for very interesting reading, no nuclear science background required. It covers many of the experiments run at the lab, including SNAPTRAN and ANP.

I read this book on the INEL's website, and that version was very poorly formatted. At times, illustrations would cover up text on the page. Many illustrations were enlarged and highly pixelated. I don't know if the print version looked like this, but the online version was pretty sloppy. There was an updated chapter at the end of the book, which was written in 2012. This segment of the book looked great.

This is interesting reading for anyone interested in this country's nuclear history.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I grew up in Idaho Falls, I didn’t know much about what happened out at the INL (and it’s many previous acronyms). This book provided a comprehensive account of the history of the site, its major discoveries, and the political struggles it’s encountered, both locally and nationally.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting reading and solid documentation of an exciting post WWII research period. The Idaho Lab's research directly resulted in, among many other things, the first nuclear reactors producing electricity and nuclear propulsion of subs and carriers. There was even a nuclear powered aircraft project which fortunately never flew. The coverage of the fatal reactor accident is brief and doesn't speculate on the cause much beyond the official enquiries. The electronic version amply illustrated with high quality photos, notes and diagrams is available at the INL Lab website.

[Hywel Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indispensible history of nuclear power, with a focus on Idaho National Laboratory. Recommended for any student of the subject.

Search for the title on Google to download a free version from the INL website.

[Marlene]

I am so excited to read this history of an important industry in Idaho.

[Kelly Horn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pure boosterism which sugar-coats the realities of the INL. For unbiased history, try "Idaho Falls: America's First Nuclear Disaster" by William McKeown.

[Gable Roth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives good information about the history of INL. However, it does tend to read like a history book. So, at times, it is not very engaging. But all in all it was pretty good.