Read Wolves Eat Dogs by Martin Cruz Smith (Score 2, Informative)

For a detailed if fictional view of Chernobyl and Pripyat, read the novel _Wolves Eat Dogs_ by Martin Cruz Smith. Smith sends his detective character Arkady Renko on a case to the Zone of Exclusion. I am not a radiation scientist so cannot judge the veracity of the novel but he goes into considerable detail about the accident, contamination levels, people who remained, etc. Fascinating read. Disclaimer: this is my favorite author.