This book is about the dramatic aspects of life that are associated with major accidents in large technical systems, and they have an increasing and sometimes terrible impact on us as technology develops. It tells about a number of emergencies to which the author was directly related for many years, as well as about the largest accidents at various technical facilities in different countries. On this basis, general patterns of the occurrence of an accident and the possible development of an accident in great trouble are presented. Typical stages of the accident were traced: the pre-accident state of the object - a starting event, the initial impetus to the accident - the development of the accident - the post-accident state of the object. Close attention is paid to the immediate and distant causes of the accident, to the stage of post-accident investigation, to the analysis of the accident and to measures to prevent future accidents. An example of such measures is emergency control and emergency automation in electric power systems. The presentation is based on the reader, for whom, if the accident did not personally affect him, the story about it, with all its often terrible consequences, has at the same time the shade of a detective story. The external circumstances in which the accident occurred are characterized, as well as in some cases the time and characters are indicated.