Here's a good read, a log of a girl who rides a motercycle through the Chernobyl zone
http://www.kiddofspeed.com/
It realy is an interesting read with pictures and all. She has a nice description of what it is like to motercycle through the area. She stays on the road because the radiation level is lower there than in the foilage along the road that just soaks up rads.
One thing I find interesting is about 3500 people decided to stay behind rather than leave their homes. 300 are still alive.
It also chronicles a lot of the cover ups the Soviet govt. did durring the crisis.
It was worth a read for me, thought I would share it. Some cool pictures too.
