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When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, few could have anticipated its potential for devastation. Pulitzer prize-winning author John Hersey recorded the stories of Hiroshima residents shortly after the explosion and, in 1946, Hiroshima was published, giving the world first-hand accounts from people who had survived it. The words of Miss Sasaki, Dr. Fujii, Mrs. Nakamara, Father Kleinsorg, Dr. Sasaki, and the Reverend Tanimoto gave a face to the statistics that saturated the media and solicited an overwhelming public response. Whether you believe the bomb made the difference in the war or that it should never have been dropped, "Hiroshima" is a must read for all of us who live in the shadow of armed conflict.
Book Description
On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped on a city. This book, John Hersey's journalistic masterpiece, tells what happened on that day. Told through the memories of survivors, this timeless, powerful and compassionate document has become a classic "that stirs the conscience of humanity" (The New York Times).
Almost four decades after the original publication of this celebrated book, John Hersey went back to Hiroshima in search of the people whose stories he had told. His account of what he discovered about them is now the eloquent and moving final chapter of
Hiroshima.
Customer Reviews:
The Hobo philosopher.......2007-09-05
Hiroshima is a book written by a man by the name of John Hersey. Mr. Hersey was born in Tientsin, China in 1914. My guess is that John Hersey is no longer with us - if he is ... you have my apologies John.
The book covers the lives of six "hibakusha" - A-bomb survivors. It covers their lives from the day the bomb hit them until ...?
What point did Mr. Hersey have in mind in writing such a book, I ask myself? What lesson is to be learned from reading such a book?
When I finished reading another controversial book years ago, Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, I asked myself the same question. I said to myself - if the lessons learned from reading that book could be condensed into one sentence what would it be? I think my conclusion satisfies both these books. I decided on the following: When you hear men talking of War as if it is a positive experience - beware.
Our 20th Century: The Age of Violence.......2007-07-31
I recently decided to reread this book by Pulitzer Prize winner John Hersey, due to the fact that my youngest daughter sent me a letter and a postcard while she was visiting Hiroshima, Japan. Before her departure to Japan, I asked her to write me a letter of her thoughts, and experiences when she visited the city of Hiroshima: one of the many places she was to visit over a three week period. For me, being a historian, I was interested in her observations. And these observations by my daughter Catherine, a 12-year-old child, touched me deeply.
Many reviewers have written excellent reviews of the book. And I would highly recommend other viewers to read this book. It was published in 1946, just one year after the atomic bomb was dropped. Hersey's essay was later published into a book, and in 1985 a final chapter was added to the book. This latest chapter was new for me. I had previously read the book, but this was the first time I read the final chapter. In the book, Hersey recounts the lives of six survivors who managed to survive the hellish bombing of Hiroshima. This is a highly recommended read, especially considering that these six survivors' accounts was published so close to the end of the war.
I have much material, both film and books on Hiroshima, however, since I had read this novel as a young man, I wanted to revisit this book. As a historian, I am interested in objectivity in historical subject matter. As the reviewer JAMES DeWITT has written, this book is not a novel, but a straight-forward account of six survivors, and Hersey writes in a way that does not judge the decision whether or not to drop the bomb. As a historian, I am not about to answer the question of whether dropping the bomb was right or wrong: History is not about what should have happened, but what did happen. Instead, let us hope that if there is anything good that can come out of this terrible chapter in history, the one fact is that these terrible weapons have not been used since WWII. Hopefully statesmen and others have learned that the price for using these weapons are too high. Moreover, what happened at Hiroshima has confirmed the fact that the use of these weapons should be avoided at all costs. Because what we humans do know about Hiroshima, is that the consequences of using these weapons would be catastrophic. And today, these weapons are much more powerful.
Over the next fews days I will be discussing this chapter of history to my young daughter. I will go over her letter she sent me, and view films of this tragic event with her. Hopefully, I can try and explain why the bomb was dropped. And maybe even try and answer her many questions. And let us all hope these weapons are never used again; because contrary to what some people have stated, there is no such thing as a winnable nuclear war.
Seriously Good Book.......2007-07-07
I really liked this book. It is small and a very quick read but completely worth it. I highly recommend this!
Literary Journalism at its Finest.......2007-06-12
Published in 1946, this remarkable article or book was based on interviews with survivors of the first city to be destroyed by a single weapon. John Hersey was a war correspondent during World War II. His "Hiroshima" has been rated as number one in The Top Ten Works of Journalism in the United States in the 20th Century, as determined by The New York University journalism faculty and a panel of critics that included David Brinkley and Morley Safer. "Hiroshima" took over the entire August 30, 1946 issue of "The New Yorker" and the issue sold out within hours. After reading this rather slim book, I can understand why. It relates the stories of six survivors in a very interesting and readable way. Hersey makes us feel the impact of the bomb and its horrors in a very personal way, yet he doesn't go overboard on the gore. There is a follow-up study almost 40 years later, and we visit these same characters again. Surprisingly, none of the six hated the U.S.; they understood that drastic measures were neeeded to end a war that the Japanese obsessively fought; throwing reason out the window. The book can be read in an evening, but you will want to reread it, as well.
Another page turner.......2007-04-02
Read in one evening - dusk till dawn.
Extraordinary page-turner, captivating, heart-wrenching...
Book Description
Lesson study is a popular professional development approach in Japan whereby teachers collaborate to study content, instruction, and how students solve problems and reach for understanding in order to improve elementary mathematics instruction and learning in the classroom.
This book is the first comprehensive look at the system and process of lesson study in Japan. It describes in detail the process of how teachers conducted lesson study--how they collaborated in order to develop a lesson, what they talked about during the process, and what they looked at in order to understand deeply how students were learning. Readers see the planning of a mathematics lesson, as well as how much content knowledge the teachers have. They observe students' problem solving strategies and learn how Japanese teachers prepare themselves to identify those strategies and facilitate the students' discussion.
Written for mathematics teachers, educational researchers, school administrators interested in teachers' professional development, and professional developers, this landmark volume provides an in-depth understanding of lesson study that can lead to positive changes in teachers' professional development and in teaching and learning in the United States.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent handbook to lesson study advocates.......2007-05-13
This book serves as an excellent handbook for those who are advocating lesson study as a practice-based professional development tool. To illustrate how the stages of lesson study can be implemented, the authors have included an authentic example to serve as a credible context.
Book Description
Volume two, The Day After, focuses on the days following the bombing of Hiroshima, as the living victims struggle to survive in the aftermath.
Customer Reviews:
Masterly and painful.......2007-09-10
Barefoot Gen Volume Two picks up where volume one leaves Gen just after the explosion of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. It a gripping and very painful story of survival in the fist terrible time after the bomb devastated Hiroshima. For those that survived the bomb and the deadly radiation, life has now become a desperate fight for survival in a harsh and brutal world. If you have read Volume One, you cannot skip this one, just as you have to read Volume three and four too.
Time to face reality........2007-06-24
Volume 1 & 2 of Nakazawa's famous comic series about a boy called 'Gen' and his life in Hiroshima during the WWII and soon after the atomic bomb. The first two volumes of this series are probably the most important ones. After I read the first two volumes, I just had to lend them to everyone I knew. If you read this story, you'll realise how silly to hear some popular opiniton 'Dropping two atomic bombs in Japan was necessary to end the war'. Nakazawa says that each and every event is true. You'll see, for example, that two young brothers fight against each other for a little grain of rice. The bombs were dropped onto civilians in the middle of the two cities, and, in Hiroshima alone, 100,000 people, including western prisoners of war, were killed instantly, and the pain they suffered from afterwords was tremendous. The way some of Gen's family members, including a new born baby sister, were slowly dying is simply too sad to look at. But the reality is that it actually took place and was caused by human hands.
I sincerely hope that many people will find an opportunity to read this book at least once in their life-time, and I strongly believe that this book will enlighten the whole world with its message: 'what really happens when a nuclear bomb is dropped onto humanity', which hasn't really been talked about in history books for some reason. But I think it's time to face reality.
Series continues strongly........2006-09-21
Keiji Nakazawa, Barefoot Gen: The Day After (New Society, 1988)
The story of Barefoot Gen, spunky atomic bomb survivor, continues in this second volume of the four-part series. It's not a stretch to predict that how you feel about The Day After will probably reflect how you felt about Barefoot Gen, without much variance.
The Day After (which, in fact, covers the next two days) opens just after the end of Barefoot Gen, and is concerned entirely with the survival of Gen, his mother, and his baby sister Tomoko. Gen's task during this time is to find food for the family, and this quest takes him on a number of small side adventures the present a much larger picture of the greater Hiroshima area after the bomb than the first book provided of Hiroshima before the bomb. Gen meets a number of different people, helps some, and learns that even after the bomb, when everyone around him is shrouded in misery and horror, the banality and prejudice around him doesn't disappear-- in fact, people are worse than they were beforehand. Nakazawa, as is his wont, tells us all this in his stories, and never allows his messages to get in the way of his storytelling. Ironically, Barbara Reynolds' introduction to this edition is a perfect contrast to Nakazawa's story; it's awfully-written, ham-handed, flat-out wrong (Reynolds harps on about American denial of responsibility for Hiroshima, and she's writing ten years or more after the release, and vast popularity, of John Hersey's Hiroshima) polemic whose sole purpose in inclusion, it seems, is to highlight how subtle Nakazawa is. Skip the introduction. Or, if you're a completist, read the book first and come back to the introduction afterwards, so it won't taint you.
This is very good stuff. Well worth your time. *** ½
The triumph of the human spirit.......2003-05-10
Barefoot Gen: The Day After is volume two of a four part series. It tells the story of the day after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima as seen through the eyes of seven year old Gen Nakaoka. Based on the real-life experiences of the author, Gen, his mother, and his newborn sister face the horrors of the day after the bomb. They have no food or shelter and are surrounded by the dead and dying. Even the soldiers sent in to gather and burn the dead bodies are succumbing to the radiation sickness and dying. No one understands what is happening and there is no one to turn to. Gen goes in search of food for his mother whose breast milk has dried up from malnutrition. Alone he faces the horror of the devastation and the destitution of the people of Hiroshima. This the hardest of the four books to read because the carnage of the day after the bomb is almost beyond belief. Gen's compassion, humanity, and determination makes this an inspiring book about the strength of the human spirit. Although the graphic scenes may turn some people off, this is still an important book for its message on the dangers of nuclear war.
The work has been wonderfully translated from the Japanese original: Hadashi no Gen. It was originally published in serial form in 1972 and 1973 in Shukan Shonen Jampu, the largest weekly comic magazine in Japan, with a circulation of over two million. The drawings are all in black and white. This US edition was published as part of a movement to translate the book into other languages and spread its message. It is a wonderful testimony to the strength of the human spirit and the horrors of nuclear war. There are a few introductory essays at the front of the book that help to put this book into perspective. It is a powerful and tragic story that I highly recommend for anyone interested in the topic.
Powerful.......2002-08-28
I stumbled across this graphic novel in a used bookstore, not having any idea the impression it would make on me. This is an incredibly powerful story, very effectively told through the medium of comic art. It is an affirmation of the power of visual media, and an example of how comics can be used for much more than funnies and fantasies. It is also probably the most effective anti-nuclear material I have ever come across.
Book Description
This harrowing story of Hiroshima was one of the original Japanese manga series. New and unabridged, this is an all-new translation of the author's first-person experiences of Hiroshima and its aftermath, is a reminder of the suffering war brings to innocent people. Its emotions and experiences speak to children and adults everywhere. Volume one of this ten-part series details the events leading up to and immediately following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Customer Reviews:
As a Japanese reader..........2007-06-24
Barefoot Gen - I grew up with this famous comic series by Nakazawa. It's about a boy called 'Gen' and his life in Hiroshima during the WWII and soon after the atomic bomb. Volumes 1 & 2 are probably the most important ones. After I read them in English, I just had to lend them to everyone I knew. If you read this story, you'll realise how silly to hear some popular opiniton 'Dropping two atomic bombs in Japan was necessary to end the war'. The author Nakazawa says that each and every event illustrated here is a true story. You'll see, for example, that two young brothers fight against each other for a little grain of rice. Gen trying to encourage a girl who used to be dreaming about one day becoming a professional dancer, but now her face was badly burnt by the bomb, although she still didn't know it - he refuses to let her see the mirror.
The bombs were dropped onto civilians in the two cities, and, in Hiroshima alone, 100,000 people, including children, elderly people and western prisoners of war, were killed instantly, and the pain they suffered from it was tremendous. The way some of Gen's family members, including a new born baby sister, were slowly dying is simply too sad to look at. But the reality is that it actually took place and was caused by human hands.
I sincerely hope that many people will find the opportunity to read this book at least once in their life-time, and I strongly believe that this book will enlighten the whole world with the message: 'What really happens when a nuclear bomb is dropped onto humanity', which hasn't really been talked about in history books for some reason. But I think it's time to face reality.
WE MUST READ THIS BOOK AS WE WONDER WHY OUR WAR DOES NOT ESTABLISH PEACE.......2007-04-12
In our present time this portal to the topic of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and our nature as the only nation to build and to use nuclear weapons, and against strictly civilian population centers may inform our moral consideration of the present failure of our total war alone against civilians to establish a peaceful and stable and democratic society.
This present volume serves as an excellent introduction to the topic. Centering on Hiroshima, as may supplement this strong introductory reading with the recent study by Prof. Takaki, or the new Racing the Enemy, which explores the lack of military reason for dropping the Bomb against an already defeated Japanese Empire. We may also read on this specific event of crisis the moving Letters from the End of the World, or HIroshima Diary, written as was Gen by eyewitnesses and civilian victims of this our nuclear holocaust. Hershey is also important to read of course, and the reissue of Hiroshima Mon Amour, but I keep returning to this child's eye view in Barefoot Gen.
We are fortunate in this reprinting for the informed and astute introduction by Art Spiegelman, the creator of the Maus series which does a similar though more symbolic treatment of the Nazi Holocaust. Art strongly recomends this first person account of a small boy on the morning of the Bomb, and its immediate effects upon himself and upon his family. Please read this book and remember. Our Popes continue to visit the Peace Park at Ground Zero in Hiroshima, to pray for peace and nonviolence and for the development of peoples.
Easy way to get a sense of a historical event........2006-07-20
The manga form of presentation makes reading about the prelude to this event easy and fast. The book seemed to be reasonably accurate with historical documentation and the visual format allowed the author to include detail that might otherwise have become difficult to work into the story. The clothing, clogs, air raid hoods, etc. that are be depicted add depth of information to a quick read.
Powerful, though stilted at times.......2006-07-19
Keiji Nakazawa, Barefoot Gen (New Society Publishing, 1983)
Keiji Nakazawa's four-volume graphic epic Barefoot Gen has become legendary in the field of graphic literature, and also, in no small way, out of it. While many Japanese artists working in every medium have examined the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their aftereffects, Nakazawa, who lived in Hiroshima at the time the bombs were dropped, has an understandably closer perspective than most others who have tried it. For sheer power, Barefoot Gen's only rival in the subgenre is the similarly legendary Grave of the Fireflies.
This eponymous first volume takes us through the life of Gen, an elementary school student, and his family in the months before the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima. Gen's father, while not a pacifist, is notorious in town for his speaking out against the war, which gets him and his family branded traitors. Because of this, they don't have an easy life. The family members try to find various ways to survive in the face of shunning at best, and aggression at worst, from the rest of the townspeople.
Do you need to be told that this is a book that's going to hit you in the face like a sledgehammer with its message? The artistry, or lack of same, in the delivery is the place where Grave of the Fireflies is clearly superior to Barefoot Gen, but while Nakazawa is not above letting his message get in the way of his story on occasion, it never happens for too long a period of time. Nakazawa's characters are well-drawn, and the story spends more time focused on its characters than on its message. There is a lot to be liked here, and a good deal to be mulled over, as well. Well worth your time. ****
Just like Maus, this is A MUST READ!!!.......2006-03-30
There are four books in this series and you MUST get em all!
First book is about a Japanes family near end of WWII whose father was anti war and realistically oriented man and criticism of rich people who plunged nation in war.
Second book is about a guy who walks through bombed Hiroshima and horror that A bomb can bring.
Third book is little more cheerful since it describes urchins who fight for survival and will to live blooming in greatest poverty and inhuman condition.
Fourth is conclusion and has very sad at moment, but is OPTIMISTICALLY ended.
Average customer rating:
- A brief but powerful story of love, forgiveness and peace
- An inspiring story of lovers torn apart by the bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
- Amazing!
- a book that stays with you long after you put it down
- A Book Worth Reading
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Sunrise on Kusatsu Harbor
Dan Maloney
Manufacturer: Winepress Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Contemporary
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Literary
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Historical
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General
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ASIN: 157921858X |
Customer Reviews:
A brief but powerful story of love, forgiveness and peace.......2007-10-02
This book opens in Japan during the second World War, with two teenagers from Hiroshima falling in love. When Mieko is called to serve in the Army, he makes a pledge to his beloved Tori. The traumatic events at the end of the war change both their lives, forever. In the chaos after the war, Tori begins a long search for Mieko, while Mieko believes that everyone he loves has perished in the atomic bomb blast that destroyed Hiroshima. Mieko sets out for the United States with a plan to exact his revenge.
This is a story of love and hatred, revenge and forgiveness. It is a reminder that hatred and revenge are caustic and blinding, and that peace can only be achieved through forgiveness. Love can conquer all. Its a powerful story for such a short book, and though the prose is, at times, simplistic and stilted, the author still conveys strong emotional content. This might be a great book for a teenage audience, with its message of peace and forgiveness.
An inspiring story of lovers torn apart by the bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki.......2007-09-16
Dan Maloney's debut novel is one of the best I've read in a long while. It tells the story of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from an entirely new perspective--from the inside looking out.
Two lovers are torn apart on the day of the bombings, only finding each other years later. What happens to Tori and Mieko will tear at your heart strings. Why does Tori not reveal herself to Mieko when she finally finds him? Why does he seek revenge on Americans? And how are his eyes finally opened to forgiveness?
To find the answers you'll have to RFY (read for yourself). I'm not about to put any spoilers in this review.
This is a story of true love that lasts a lifetime, of destruction, revenge, and, finally, of redemption. Dan Maloney proves himself a talented writer as he brings his characters to life right before your eyes. He's great at dialogue, description, and pacing too.
I couldn't put this book down; the plot held me spellbound. I fell in love with Tori and was rooting for her all the way. I wanted to slap Mieko up the side of his face a few times, but, all in all, he was a good man.
Great job, Dan Maloney! I look forward to more novels from you and will follow your career with interest.
Amazing!.......2007-07-29
Wow!! It is not often that a book captures my attention that I read the book in one sitting. This is a powerfully written story. Every August we hear about the bombings in Japan. We hear about the devestation. This story tells us how it affected individual people, how it affected Mieko and Tori. How it changed their lives forever. But love conquers all.
To quote a statement made by Tori in the book: "We must all learn to forgive one another."
a book that stays with you long after you put it down.......2007-07-10
A deeply moving novel about resentment turning to poison, and how that misplaced emotion can nearly destroy one, if you permit it. With so many things happening in this world to innocent people, this book carries a timely message - an important message of how letting go of these perceived wrongs can save your from your own self-destruction.
It opens with the story of lovers, Tori and Mieko, in Japan in the days before the U.S. dropped the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It opens on a Sunrise at Kasatsu Harbor, a small peaceful village that has no idea doom lurks on the horizon. Mieko has been ordered to report for duty to work on discovering biological weapons for warfare against Japan's enemies.
Tori is left behind, hundreds of miles away from Mieko, where he is working to find the means to give Japan the power to end this war. Tori is caught on the edge of the Hiroshima blast, destroying their peaceful little hamlet. With nothing and no one left, Tori sets out to find her lover. Mieko learns of the bombing and rushes back to her, but they both miss each other in their journeys. Poor Tori discovers she must retrace her steps to find Mieko, which puts her right on the edge of the second bomb drop at Nagasaki. She is horribly burned, and ends up being hospitalized. These events send their lives even farther apart; even when they come together, Mieko doesn't recognize his love because of the scarring from the blast.
So full of rage with the destruction, Mieko vows revenge against America. This part of the book is told in first person narrative, but not from the POV of the leads. Then the writer, oddly, steps outside of rules of typical writing, and has the "guide" become part of the story, as the story shifts focus from Tori and Mieko, and more to the "guide" and his strong hatred of Japan, because he lost his father in the war. At this point, you see the devastating repercussions of long held resentment turn to poison, and how forgiveness and looking beyond ones own perceived hurts is ultimately the salvation from our own destruction. The story returns to watching another sunrise on the harbor, another day of hope, asking the underlying question of how will you spend it, in the positive light of forgiveness or giving yourself over the bitter resentment that could ultimately destroy you?
The style of writing is riveting, grabs the reader and never lets them down. It's deeply moving, thought provoking, and oh so timely.
One of those small books that will sneak up on the world by word of mouth. Well worth the time to read.
A Book Worth Reading.......2007-07-10
Dan Maloney has certainly succeeded with his historical account of love, forgiveness, faith, and persistence. He has created a compelling story of two Japanese lovers seperated by the violence and destruction of war. This book was hard to put down. It touched my soul and will certainly touch many others. Its professionally written with detail and emotion that will keep you reading right to the end. Get this book and look for this author to produce more quality work in the future. Thanks Dan for the opportunity to read your work of art.
Highly recommended.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Window.......2002-11-15
Certain essays from this book were requirements for an international relations class I took. After reading two of the stories I had to read the entire book. It is a truely excellent window into the effects of the atomic bomb on humans. It took me below the mushroom cloud, it was graphic, gripping, and effective. It does not focus on justifications for the bomb, it focuses purely on the effects. I plan on buying it in the near future because it is such an excellent testimonial.
greatly educational.......1999-02-11
I reviewed that te book was a great review of how terrible the devigstation was. Had great detail
Average customer rating:
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Peace Without Hiroshima: Secret Action at the Vatican in the Spring of 1945
Martin S. Quigley
Manufacturer: Madison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Japan
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General
| Europe
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Vatican
| Europe
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General
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General
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Hiroshima & Nagasaki
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Personal Narratives
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Asia
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Home Front
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Diplomacy
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ASIN: 0819180564 |
Book Description
Quigley was a World War II OSS agent in Ireland and Rome who posed as an American motion picture industry representative. Charged with intelligence-gathering functions, he was also asked by OSS director William J. Donovan to investigate the possibility of the Vatican mediating the surrender of Japan. That request is the basis for this meager treatment of a minor event. The secret action resulted in no more than two unenthusiastic cables from Japan's Vatican ambassador to Tokyo; they were never even acknowledged, let alone answered.
Book Description
On April 12, 1945, Franklin Roosevelt died and Harry Truman took his place in the White House. Historians have been arguing ever since about the implications of this transition for American foreign policy in general and relations with the Soviet Union in particular. Was there essential continuity in policy or did Truman's arrival in the Oval Office prompt a sharp reversal away from the approach of his illustrious predecessor? This study explores this controversial issue and in the process casts important light on the outbreak of the Cold War. From Roosevelt to Truman investigates Truman's foreign policy background and examines the legacy that FDR bequeathed to him. This work reveals that the real departure in American policy came only after the Truman administration had exhausted the legitimate possibilities of the Rooseveltian approach of collaboration with the Soviet Union.
Customer Reviews:
Worth the Read.......2007-08-09
This book gives a thorough look at the transition and evolution of the Truman administration's foreign policy approach. I found it a surprisingly easy read for a book based on solid research. Though my exposure to other works dealing with this subject is admittedly narrow, I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking a balanced view on this subject.
Customer Reviews:
A delightfully nutty perspective.......1998-11-20
I am reading this book, so I thought I'd check to see what others have said about it. As I expected, the reviews online come from cheerleaders of the revisionist camp. Personally, I find the book to be useful information from the leftist perspective. I keep thinking: yes, yes, all that is true enough, but from the information available to Truman in July 1945, did he have any alternative but to authorize the use of the bomb?
I'll post further thoughts on my website.
-- Dan Ford
Hiroshima's Shadows presents voices from all sides.......1998-08-24
Here is an extract from my review of 'Hiroshima's Shadows', that appeared in 'New Politics', no. 25 (Summer 1998):
'Hiroshima's Shadow: Writings on the Denial of History and the Smithsonian Controversy' is an enormous, and aesthetically handsome work, bringing together nearly 50 essays between between 1945 and 1997 by scholars, military, political and religious leaders, independent intellectuals, and survivors of the atomic bombings. The book is unusual in that, though it has a strong editorial point of view, the editors unflinchingly present voices from all sides of the argument.
The contribors include Albert Camus, Dwight Macdonald, Lewis Mumford, Mary McCarthy, A.J. Muste, among others. Defenders of the bomb include Charles Krauthammer who says that we should "let the Japanese commemorate the catastrophe they brought on themselves" (rather than mourn the use of the bomb), and Paul Fussel, an English professor and ex-front line combatant, who raises the slogan, "thank god for the atomic bomb." An even wider range of ideological positions is represented on the side of the critics: Lifschultz and Bird have recovered an anti-bomb editorial from the paleo-right-wing 'Human Events' and placed it alongside the observations of Mahatma Gandhi and Norman Thomas. As the editors put it, "the usual distinctions of left and right on economic and social issues were not reliable guides which could accurately predict what people thought about Hiroshima."
A substantial section of the book contains memoirs of a few survivors. These memoirs underscore the enduring reality that it was civilians, not military objectives, who were then, and remain, the prime target of nuclear weapons.
Hiroshima's Shadows presents voices from all sides.......1998-08-24
Here is an extract from my review of 'Hiroshima's Shadows', that appeared in 'New Politics', no. 25 (Summer 1998):
'Hiroshima's Shadow: Writings on the Denial of History and the Smithsonian Controversy' is an enormous, and aesthetically handsome work, bringing together nearly 50 essays between between 1945 and 1997 by scholars, military, political and religious leaders, independent intellectuals, and survivors of the atomic bombings. The book is unusual in that, though it has a strong editorial point of view, the editors unflinchingly present voices from all sides of the argument.
The contribors include Albert Camus, Dwight Macdonald, Lewis Mumford, Mary McCarthy, A.J. Muste, among others. Defenders of the bomb include Charles Krauthammer who says that we should "let the Japanese commemorate the catastrophe they brought on themselves" (rather than mourn the use of the bomb), and Paul Fussel, an English professor and ex-front line combatant, who raises the slogan, "thank god for the atomic bomb." An even wider range of ideological positions is represented on the side of the critics: Lifschultz and Bird have recovered an anti-bomb editorial from the paleo-right-wing 'Human Events' and placed it alongside the observations of Mahatma Gandhi and Norman Thomas. As the editors put it, "the usual distinctions of left and right on economic and social issues were not reliable guides which could accurately predt what people thought about Hiroshima."
A substantial section of the book contains memoirs of a few survivors. These memoirs underscore the enduring reality that it was civilians, not military objectives, who were then, and remain, the prime target of nuclear weapons.
The most comprehensive and balanced account to date........1998-07-31
Hiroshima's Shadow is perhaps the most comprehensive and balanced collection of essays to date on the decision to use atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
While some insist on a single interpretation of these events and label any reinterpretation as unpatriotic or unAmerican, the New York Times put it best: "The real betrayal of American tradition would be to insist on a single version of history or to make it the property of the state or any group. History in America is based on freedom of inquiry and discussion, which is one reason why Americans have given their lives to defend it."
Book Description
The war on terror has become a household subject since the attacks on September 11, 2001. In reality, the jihad against America did not happen overnight. It has been coming for quite some time. The Dunces of Doomsday documents sixteen blunders that resulted in an invigorated radical Islam, terrorism worldwide, and the coming "American Hiroshima." The blunders documented include:
• "The Peanut Farmer and the Ayatollah"—How the worst president in America's history permitted and invigorated the rise of radical Islam
• "The Great Offense Against Islam"—How the invasion of Iraq under President George H. W. Bush and the installation of U.S. military bases between Islam's holy cities of Mecca and Medina sparked the holy war and the plan for the American Hiroshima
• "The Poppy Fields Remain in Bloom"—How the war on terror could have been averted by fire-bombing the poppy fields of Afghanistan
• "The Clinton Follies: From the Mullahs to Monica"—How the Clinton administration, which largely ignored international problems, failed to address the growing threat of Al-Qaeda after the attack on the U.S. embassies, the counterresistance in Somalia, and the attacks on the USS The Sullivans and the USS Cole
• "W Uses the Wrong Word"—How President George W. Bush's message that Islam means "peace" obscured the reality that Islam means "submission" to Allah
The Dunces of Doomsday chronicles the mistakes that have been made and provides a guide for preventing radical Islam and terrorism's dream of carrying out the coming American Hiroshima.
Customer Reviews:
Citizen's Primer on Failure of Government & Parties.......2007-07-07
I like the reviews I see here, so rather than repeat them I will simply say that I know Paul Williams, his first book, Osama's Revenge: THE NEXT 9/11 : What the Media and the Government Haven't Told You is first class, and both that book and this book are on my list of top 40 books for Earth Threat #9: Terrorism.
It should trouble all Americans that the US Government, under the failed congress (see The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track (Institutions of American Democracy) and Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders), parties (see Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It), and Dick Cheney (see Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency, my long review itemizes the 23 high crimes and misdemeanors documented by the book), is focusing on terrorism rather than all ten threats. See my lists on threats, policies, and players.
I have put this book second in my list for terrorism, it is easier to read that Ralph Peters, but both books will make your blood boil. My own two books helpful to the public are available free at OSS.Net, but much more fun if you buy them in book form from Amazon:
The New Craft of Intelligence: Personal, Public, & Political--Citizen's Action Handbook for Fighting Terrorism, Genocide, Disease, Toxic Bombs, & Corruption
THE SMART NATION ACT: Public Intelligence in the Public Interest
IF YOU BELIEVE "24" IS BASED ON REALITY, YOU'LL BELIEVE THIS BOOK.......2007-03-31
Freedom of speech gives the author the right to state whatever he chooses, deflecting charges of bias with claims that his rights cannot be restricted. Unfortunately, the libel laws about prejudice, mistatements and outright lies are not heeded nearly as closely. Set aside the astonishing misinterpretations of Islamic culture and the total xenophobia underlying the book for a moment - Williams is hardly alone in that category - and focus on one of his most chilling claims: That a large quantity of nuclear materials was stolen from McMaster University's privately-owned research reactor and wound up in the hands of terrorists. McMaster, by the way, is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada - it's typical of the author to position such an event outside of the U.S., suggesting fortress America is targeted by the rest of the world - and is a highly acclaimed institution. Every legitimate source from McMaster administrators to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have stated that not an ounce of material is missing. The university has launched a libel suit against the author and publisher demanding a retraction. It will no doubt occur. But muddle-headed readers who buy this man's fantasies will either not hear of it or will ignore it, preferring to support his position that the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim. This is outrageous fiction depicted as scholarly reflection, and it is a sham.
Bush, the Republican Party's Jimmy Carter.......2007-01-04
A great book that confirms my belief that our entire government is run by a bunch of s' for brains with absolutely no street smarts. Bush is the biggest phony when it comes to fighting the war on terror. Under Bush annual iftar dinners began at the White House, under Bush the Koran was added to the White House library, under Bush terror suspects are invited to fund raising events, under Bush CAIR is allowed to post news announcements on the TSA website, under Bush our POW interrogators hands are tied like never before, under Bush his rat faced secretary of state constantly panders to the Palestinians, Bush may as well erect a crescent flag over the white house.
Scott W.
Documents the history of these blunders, including the underlying belief that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance.......2006-11-07
THE DUNCES OF DOOMSDAY: 10 BLUNDERS THAT GAVE RISE TO RADICAL ISLAM, TERRORIST REGIMES AND THE THREAT OF AN AMERICAN HIROSHIMA is no general treasure but hones in on ten major errors which have left security holes in the United States. Former FBI consultant Williams documents the history of these blunders, including the underlying belief that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, and provides keys to how to cap the dangers - if we act quickly enough.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Dunces indeed.......2006-11-06
Thoughtfull without being alamist, the autor does a good job of exposing the failure of our representatives to act when they needed to regardless of which side of the isle they may be on. The author is carefull to build his case while still remaining readable, and even if only a quarter of the information presented is accurate there is danger a-brewing in every Wahhabist mosque in america. Must reading for anyone concerned with national security.
Books:
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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