Hiroshima Nagasaki: The Real Story of the Atomic Bombings and Their Aftermath

Synopsis

A history and analysis of the WWII nuclear bombings of Japan from “a master of engrossing and exciting narrative” (Los Angeles Review of Books).In this harrowing history of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, Paul Ham argues against the use of nuclear weapons, drawing on extensive research and hundreds of interviews to prove that the bombings had little impact on the eventual outcome of the Pacific War.More than 100,000 people were killed instantly by the atomic bombs, mostly women, children, and the elderly. Many hundreds of thousands more succumbed to their horrific injuries later, or slowly perished of radiation-related sickness.Yet American leaders claimed the bombs were “our least abhorrent choice” —and still today most people believe they ended the Pacific War and saved millions of American and Japanese lives. In this gripping narrative, Ham demonstrates convincingly that misunderstandings and nationalist fury on both sides led to the use of the bombs. Ham also gives powerful witness to its destruction through the eyes of eighty survivors, from twelve-year-olds forced to work in war factories to wives and children who faced the holocaust alone.Hiroshima Nagasaki presents the grisly unadorned truth about the bombings, blurred for so long by postwar propaganda, and transforms our understanding of one of the defining events of the twentieth century.Praise for Hiroshima Nagasaki“Moral anger drives Mr. Ham . . . Ordinary Japanese, Mr. Ham believes, were less emperor-worshiping fanatics than victims of an authoritarian elite that prolonged the war with no regard for their hardships.” —The Wall Street Journal“Ham presents a forceful argument that the bombing was excessive and unjustified. . . . In this sweeping and comprehensive history, Ham details the geopolitical considerations and huge egos behind evolving theories of warfare. . . . But most powerful are the eyewitness accounts of 80 survivors, ordinary people caught up in the events of war.” —Booklist (starred review)

Copyright:

2011

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Book Size:

641 Pages

ISBN-13:

9781466847477

Related ISBNs:

9781250047113

Publisher:

ST. MARTIN'S PUBLISHING GROUP

Date of Addition:

11/04/24

Copyrighted By:

Paul Ham.

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Military, Nonfiction

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.