Customer Reviews

Hiroshima: The Story of the First Atom Bomb (Watts Nonfiction)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On August 6, 1945, at the order of President Harry Truman, the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bomb exploded at 8:15 a.m. and killed 70,000 people in an instant. Thousands more would die of radiation sickness within weeks, while thousands of others who survived would be sick, scarred, and deformed for the rest of their lives. Three days later, the U.S. dropped a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki, killing another 40,000 people. That second bomb compelled the Japanese government to surrender and ended World War II. However, the Hiroshima bomb started the nuclear age. Since August of 1945 nuclear devices have been exploded only in tests and not as part of military operations. But today North Korea officially admitted that it has nuclear weapons, efforts are being made to curtail the development of Iran's nuclear program, and the major concern is that terrorists are going to get their hands on a nuclear device.

That is why Clive A. Lawton's "Hiroshima: The Story of the First Atom Bomb" looks at not only the bombing of Hiroshima, but the politics and science behind that military decision as well as the consequences that extend to this day. Lawton, a former high school principal in Liverpool, England, has written and broadcast extensively on moral and religious issues that affect education, and I thought there was an indication of something akin to an agenda when the front flap of the book refers to the bombing of Hiroshima as a "disaster." However, this informative book more than maintains a sense of balance from start to finish with regards to both the history and issues being covered.

The chapters of "Hiroshima: The Story of the First Atom Bomb" are two-page spreads amply illustrated, many with color photographs and tinted black & white shots. The first eight chapters start with German scientists successfully splitting an atom in 1938 and then contrasts the war in the Pacific against the Japanese empire with the progress of the Manhattan Project. At the end of this first section Lawson establishes the military, political, and scientific realities that President Truman was facing in 1945. The next six chapters begin with Truman "Making the Decision" to bomb Hiroshima and ends with Japan's "Unconditional Surrender." Including in the illustrations are a striking set of before and after aerial photographs of Nagasaki showing the level of destruction. Lawson also explains how the hills surrounding the city meant that although the second bomb was more powerful than the first, using plutonium instead of uranium, the blast was not as devastating.

The final six chapters of the book are divided between what happened "After the Surrender" in Japan, where the survivors became known as the "hibakusha," and the socio-political ramifications of dropping the bombs. Lawson examines whether dropping the bomb was the right decision, covering the arguments on both sides, and traces the Cold War legacy of Fallout Shelters, antinuclear protests, and treaties to dismantle nuclear weapons. The back of the book contains a list of Key Dates from 1939 to 1956, a Glossary of a dozen terms, and a Who's Who of key figures. For those who are more interested in "The Science" than the history, there are a couple of pages devoted to key concepts from nuclear power to radioactive fallout.

That last section represents the overall strength of the book, which is in covering a lot of material in concise, focused, chunks of information. Lawson ends the main text with the pointed contrast of the dangerous new world in which we live after September 11th and the legacy of Hiroshima. There is a significant discussion to be had with regards to these concerns and "Hiroshima: The Story of the First Atom Bomb" provides a solid background on the history part