New Books in Science, Technology, and Society Tom Bolton, "Atomic Albion: Journeys Around Britain’s Nuclear Power Stations" (Strange Attractor, 2025)
Feb 11, 2026
Tom Bolton, writer and researcher of landscape and culture, tours Britain’s sixteen nuclear power stations. He describes traveling coast to coast, the architecture and security of reactors, and the tangled links between power, weapons, waste, and place. Conversations range from decommissioning and waste communication to site selection, near-misses, and visions for small modular reactors.
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See To Understand
- Visiting nuclear sites reveals emotional and architectural experiences that desk research misses.
- Bolton says in-person scale and place alter how we understand nuclear technology and its cultural meaning.
Unexpected Ecological Value
- Many nuclear sites sit on landscapes later found to be ecologically valuable, like the Flow Country and Dungeness.
- Bolton highlights the odd pairing of high-tech reactors with fragile, unique ecosystems.
Perimeter Encounter
- Bolton and his wife reached many coastal sites by public transport and walking, since Britain is compact.
- He describes being stopped and questioned by the Civil Nuclear Constabulary when walking Sellafield's perimeter.
