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| Book Title | The China Syndrome |
| Genre | Thriller |
| Author | Burton Wohl |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Published | 1979 |
| Format | Mass Market Paperback |
| Condition | Good |
| Condition Notes | Vintage movie tie-in paperback with moderate overall shelf and reading wear. The front cover has rubbing and scuffing, with noticeable edge and corner wear. There is a prominent diagonal crease across the lower-right corner, additional smaller creases, and light surface scratching. The spine and upper edges show rubbing consistent with age and use.
Despite the wear, the orange-red cover remains bright, the movie photograph is clear, and all lettering is readily readable. There is no major portion of the front cover missing. Based on the visible condition, Good is the appropriate EugeneBookStore grade, assuming the binding is secure and the pages are complete. |
| Condition | Good |
Television reporter Kimberly Wells and her cameraman enter a California nuclear power plant expecting to film a routine feature story. Instead, they witness a frightening incident inside the control room—an event that plant officials would rather keep quiet.
As Kimberly investigates, evidence emerges that the accident may have brought the reactor dangerously close to catastrophe. The story becomes a race between journalists determined to expose what happened, plant employees who understand the danger, and powerful interests concerned about what the truth could mean.
Based on the screenplay for the acclaimed 1979 film, The China Syndrome combines investigative journalism, corporate secrecy and the frightening possibility of a nuclear reactor accident into a fast-moving technological thriller.
EugeneBookStore Summary
The China Syndrome is an especially interesting piece of late-1970s popular culture: a suspenseful nuclear-disaster novelization tied directly to one of the era’s most memorable political and technological thrillers.
What makes the story effective is that its danger doesn’t come from a conventional villain. Instead, the tension develops from machinery, human decisions, corporate pressure and the possibility that people responsible for public safety may have reasons to hide what has happened.
This Bantam edition adds another attraction for collectors because it is a genuine 1979 movie tie-in, with the cover featuring the film’s principal stars. For readers who enjoy vintage disaster fiction, investigative thrillers, nuclear-age suspense or collecting paperback editions connected with classic films, this is a fun period piece with an immediately recognizable premise.
Collector Notes
This edition is particularly collectible as a 1979 Bantam movie tie-in. The cover photograph features Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas, linking the paperback directly to the Columbia Pictures film. The book is a novelization by Burton Wohl based on the screenplay by Mike Gray, T. S. Cook and James Bridges.
The ISBN identifies this as 055313017X / 9780553130171. The edition was published in February 1979 and has a stated original cover price of $1.95.
Movie tie-in paperbacks can be appealing collectibles because their covers preserve contemporary film advertising that often disappears from later editions. This one has additional historical interest because The China Syndrome became closely associated with America’s late-1970s debate over nuclear power.
