The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Great Historic Disasters) [Library Binding]

J. Poolos (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–9—This rambling narrative takes forever to get to the point. Its primary aims are to discuss the concerns of refugee scientists that Germany might develop an atomic weapon, the U.S. program that became the Manhattan Project, and the use of the weapon on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Almost half of the text describes the campaigns in Europe, Africa, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. The Manhattan Project and the dropping of Little Boy and Fat Man are covered in one chapter each. The text contains many editing errors. Complicated ideas such as the Lend-Lease Act and the use of transport convoys to combat the German U-Boat menace are not fully explained. The numerous vintage photos are accompanied by lengthy, redundant captions (one implies that FDR declared war, which he could not do). R. G. Grant's Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Raintree, 1998) is a better title.—Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KS
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

My God, what have we done? asked the copilot of the Enola Gay after releasing the atomic bomb upon Hiroshima, and the question distills the controversy that lingers more than 60 years later. In clean, descriptive prose, Poolos begins at Japan’s Hiroshima Peace Park, where citizens continue to mourn the 140,000 killed by the bomb, before jumping back to 1933 and the unexpectedly banal moment that led Dr. Leo Szilard to conceive of an atomic chain reaction. Approximately half of this entry in the Great Historic Disasters series deals with the origins and progression of World War II, with little mention of the bomb; the other half zeros in on the Manhattan Project, the decisions leading to detonation, and the human and political consequences still felt today. The photos and layout are dry, but in truth, little embellishment is needed to bring drama to the development and secrecy surrounding the bomb’s creation. Any patriotism generated is tempered by photos of disfigured survivors. A fine starting point for learning about this complex chapter in human history. Grades 5-9. --Daniel Kraus

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 128 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea House Publications; 1 edition (September 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791097382
• ISBN-13: 978-0791097380
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,349,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)