Thank God for the Atom Bomb [Mass Market Paperback]

Paul Fussell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A conservative cultural critic with a passion for nude beaches and the Indy 500 auto race, Fussell (The Great War and Modern Memory) explores some of his pet topics in this miscellany of essays and articles. The title piece, a defense of Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, generated lively controversy when it first appeared in the New Republic; a spirited exchange from that journal is included here. Elsewhere, Fussell hails George Orwell's essays as a refreshing counterweight to today's "theory-ridden" criticism. Mulling the difference between tourists and travelers, he offers disarming observations on travel writers Paul Theroux and John Krich. One piece explores how patriotic fervor thrust Carl Sandburg's propaganda tracts into the literary limelight. Fussell has quirky, interesting things to say about gun control, war poetry, chivalry and modernism as an offshoot of the "melodrama of the French Revolution."
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Most of these 14 essayson topics ranging from Hiroshima to the Indy 500originally appeared in the New Republic , Sewanee Review , and other periodicals. One essay praises George Orwell for virtues that Fussell himself has cultivated: an accessible style, a lively interest in the social uses of language, and "a power of facing unpleasant facts." Fussell is even keener on exposing the euphemisms and illusions of others. His most valuable pieces deal with the horrors of modern warfare and its literaturesomewhat extending and generalizing his powerful The Great War and Modern Memory (1975). Libraries with well-educated browsers would find this worthyif not mandatorywhile those covering the two World Wars would find it worthier still. Donald Ray, Manhattanville Coll. Lib., Purchase, N.Y.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 14, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345361350
• ISBN-13: 978-0345361356
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,025,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Astute Analysis of the Decision, September 20, 2009

By 

Susan Salisbury (Rosemead, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thank God for the Atom Bomb (Mass Market Paperback)

The title essay alone is worth the price of the book. This is a thoughtful, and irrefutable analysis of the reasons for the decision and the correctness of it. It is the only analysis I had read when I first read this essay years ago, which pointed out that Hiroshima and Nagasake were 5 days apart. Clearly, no warning would have been enough to cause the Japanese to surrender because the first bomb alone was not enough to bring about their surrender.

For those who think that it was wrong to drop the bomb knowing it would hit civilians, how about the heavy bombing of Tokyo done with conventional bombs. There was no ability to bomb very selectively in those days. Based on the losses suffered in invading Okinawa, including the number of Japanese Civilians killed in that invasion, it can reasonably be argued that, as a result of the two bombs being dropped, and the ultimate surrender of the Japanese leadership, fewer Japanese civilians were killed than would have been killed in the invasion of Japan.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The works of a brilliant essayist are a joy to read (a history teacher's review), May 29, 2009

By 

DWD "DWD's Reviews" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Thank God for the Atom Bomb (Mass Market Paperback)

I admit, I was attracted to this book because of the title. Our library had it featured on its web page with some excerpts and I was intrigued. I was not disappointed.

The title essay is simply brilliant. It is also caustic, blunt and nuanced. I'll refer to it before the next time I teach about World War II.

There are two more essays on World War II. I found the two essays on George Orwell to be most interesting. His commentary on the differences between tourism and travel reminded me of the Twain essays I've been reading lately. "Taking It All Off In The Balkans" is the account of his visit to a nudist resort in the former Yugoslavia - very funny and (I've got to say it) revealing.

Two essays were just not interesting to me, being mainly about poetry and I find myself unable to muster the interest to read poetry, let alone read extensive commentary on it. I skimmed those.

The essay on the 2nd Ammendment ("A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.") comes off as a poorly-researched rant as opposed to the well-researched arguments made in the Atom Bomb essays. It stands out in this collection for that reason.

The other oddball essay is my 2nd favorite (after the title essay). Fussell went to the Indy 500. Try to imagine an East Coast college professor who writes about poetry standing around Indy's infamous snakepit and the guys with the "Show us your t_ts" signs. Fussell's comments are quite observant and show that he really spent some time walking around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and getting a feel for racing in general. Having just attended my 24th Indy 500 six days ago I was especially interested in his comments. I would be most interested in seeing Fussell's thoughts at having more racial diversity in the fields and 3 women in the race nowadays.

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartfelt and Brilliant, January 3, 2012

By 

Peter P. Fuchs (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thank God for the Atom Bomb (Mass Market Paperback)

All that needs to be said is that this is a very heartfelt and brilliant book. It deals in one detailed chapter with the reasons for a very difficult historical fact. The reasons given are very personal and thus, on one level I believe, unassailable, since the author contends he would have lost his own life but for the fateful decision. Worth considering for those given to quick judgments on the matter.