What if climate change isn't an environmental challenge, but an energy challenge?

Sunday Times Book of the Year

'Fascinating' JAMES O'BRIEN
'Thrilling...vividly written, filled with fascinating facts, and inspiring' STEVEN PINKER
'So interesting ... it'll answer all our questions' JEREMY VINE
'I challenge you to read this book and not be excited about how we get on and power the world with sustainable energy for the next century' HANNAH RITCHIE

In this visionary book, Dr Tim Gregory urges us to rethink the path to net zero. He argues that the solution to climate change lies not simply in replacing fossil fuels with renewables, but in fully embracing another energy source that emits zero carbon dioxide: nuclear power.

Gregory dismantles the conventional wisdom that renewables such as wind and solar are completely 'green', and debunks myths surrounding nuclear waste and radiation, demonstrating that nuclear power is not only reliable, safe and potent, but the most environmentally responsible way to harvest energy.

Going Nuclear calls for decarbonisation to be the twenty-first century's Apollo programme. By interweaving scientific optimism, myth-busting data, and ambitious policy ideas, Gregory illustrates the untapped and boundless potential of the atom beyond just clean energy: from advanced medicine and forensics to atomic gardening and space exploration.

This is a bold case for an alternative, sustainable and prosperous future: a world in which abundant energy is available to all.

About the Author
Dr Tim Gregory is a nuclear chemist at the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory at Sellafield, public speaker, broadcaster and author of Meteorite: How Stones from Outer Space Made our World. In 2017, he was a finalist in BBC2's Astronauts: Do You Have What it Takes and has also presented on BBC's The Sky at Night and Channel 4's Steph's Packed Lunch. He has a PhD from the University of Bristol and lives in the North of England. His website is www.tim-gregory.co.uk.

Reviews
Gregory makes a clear, unflinching case for taking nuclear energy seriously in any realistic path to net zero. His explanations of the science, the trade-offs and the public misconceptions keep the debate grounded while the writing itself is lively and engaging -- Best Non-Fiction Books of 2025 * i news *
A bold reframing of one of the most misunderstood technologies of the modern age. With clarity, wit and a scientist's eye for precision ... This book stands out for its capacity to disarm. Nuclear power is here made not only comprehensible but also compelling ... In an age of climate anxiety and technological pessimism, Going Nuclear offers a hopeful alternative -- Tone Langengen * Literary Review *
Fascinating ... You've won Jimmy over, I wish politicians answered like scientists. Informed facts over uninformed opinions. Great -- James O'Brien * LBC *
This book is a highly engaging and lucid primer on nuclear technology -- Steven Poole * Telegraph *
Deeply researched ... persuasive ... a strong, carefully argued case -- Nick Rennison * Mail on Sunday *
A master class in nuclear science, technology, economics and history -- Mark P. Mills * Wall Street Journal *
in this delightful book ... we are urged to reframe our relationship with nuclear power or face extinction. He peppers his convincing argument with surprisingly enchanting anecdotes -- James Carey-Douglas * Mail on Sunday, Summer Reads *
You will struggle to find anyone who brings nuclear power to life quite like Tim Gregory. You can feel the enthusiasm jump from the page. There's lots to debate, but I challenge you to read this book and not be excited about how we get on and power the world with sustainable energy for the next century. -- Hannah Ritchie * author of NOT THE END OF THE WORLD *
[A] bible ... Gregory's case is that nuclear power is humanity's only hope. Carbon dioxide emissions would vanish as an issue in a nuclear world ... His argument is powerful and it would be interesting to see a counter argument by somebody ... who writes and thinks as well as Gregory. But perhaps there is no such person. -- Bryan Appleyard * Spectator *
Energy is necessary for everything we value in life, and the world will need gargantuan amounts of safe and reliable power to eliminate poverty, decarbonise the economy, and feed entirely new demands like artificial intelligence. Going Nuclear shows where this energy will come from-and not as a last resort, but as the enabler of a new chapter in human progress. This is a thrilling book: vividly written, filled with fascinating facts, and inspiring in its vision for the future. -- Steven Pinker * Johnstone Professor, Harvard University, and the author of ENLIGHTENMENT NOW *
Gregory is an excellent popular science writer: clear as a bell and gently humorous. -- Dorian Lynskey * Guardian *
A passionate, accessible, and timely manifesto that reframes nuclear energy not as a necessary evil but as humanity's most promising tool for addressing climate change, energy poverty and a sustainable future -- Kirsty Gogan * Founding Director of Terra Praxis *
[A] hopeful vision of a nuclear-powered, climate-friendly world ... a vigorous, science-based advocacy of nuclear power -- Richard Wolfson * Times Literary Supplement *
A convincing case ... sceptics will appreciate this persuasive, technical plea for the promise of nuclear power in meeting energy needs without carbon emissions -- Wade Lee-Smith * Library Journal *
His arguments are rigorously grounded -- Jonathan Ford * Financial Times *
An impassioned and convincing defence of nuclear power. Gregory's conversational tone is a boon, and he balances it with solid data. * Publishers Weekly *
[An] enjoyable, deliberately controversial book -- Andrew Robinson, Books of the Year * Nature *



Book Information
ISBN 9781847928078
Author Tim Gregory
Format Hardback
Page Count 384
Imprint The Bodley Head Ltd
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 597g
Dimensions(mm) 241mm * 160mm * 33mm