$22.22 with 11 percent savings

List Price: $24.95

FREE delivery May 15 - 17. Details

Or fastest delivery Tuesday, May 14. Order within 2 hrs 50 mins. Details

Select delivery location

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$22.22 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

😎 Pacific Coast Book Sellers 🇺🇸

Ships from

😎 Pacific Coast Book Sellers 🇺🇸

Sold by

😎 Pacific Coast Book Sellers 🇺🇸

Sold by

😎 Pacific Coast Book Sellers 🇺🇸

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.

Read full return policy

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Details

$7.55

Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less See less

FREE delivery May 17 - 20. Details

Or fastest delivery May 13 - 15. Details

Select delivery location

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$22.22 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Ships from and sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (24) from $7.55 & FREE Shipping

Follow the authors

Rain of Ruin: A Photographic History of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Paperback – October 31, 1999

by Donald M. Goldstein (Author), J. Michael Wenger (Author), Katherine V. Dillon (Author)

3.7 10 ratings

See all formats and editions

Save 10% at checkout Shop items

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$22.22","priceAmount":22.22,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"22","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"22","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"tSFmtVCf0p1yiR2uMhjoBSu7JMhIyMPiQEa1g3AibKYQJoDg%2FfaBg3HZFgRHryELq%2F8NQe8HCwRUd0q0tcEbu4ysm6TGGQLoeJeqv56kZ22hgpLvTBLbyczHUUKOZ%2F9RdqRa8s5vV7IPFlFcEbxOtkuks%2Bb9hpPYR%2B1ZF5f%2BUck%2BCPN4s%2BiMGw%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$7.55","priceAmount":7.55,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"7","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"55","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"tSFmtVCf0p1yiR2uMhjoBSu7JMhIyMPidkyYCSSLwFykscoogA%2FoDMptA0Us5ESSOm53U4Lw9dqMGFQLVW%2B%2FHoGHhYUOImPI4lz3nSlnbJcNaWYcxYeC0SYTpixiv93div4TTmCowA%2B8AyJtcz%2BW%2FUwiD3X6etydyAj%2FhDP7O%2FQ%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

This World War II classic is the first comprehensive photographic record of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By the prolific team of Dr. Donald M. Goldstein, Katherine V. Dillon, and J. Michael Wenger, it contains over four hundred photographs of the U.S. preparations for the attack and of the two cities and their people before, during, and after those fateful days. Many are U.S. government and Japanese photographs never before seen by the public. Rain of Ruin is an objective, informative account of the momentous events that changed the world in 1945 and are still debated today.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Donald M. Goldstein is a retired United States Air Force officer, professor emeritus of public and international affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught for thirty-five years, a winner of two Peabody Awards, and author of many books. He has also taught at the Air Force Academy, the Air War College, the Air Command and Staff College, the University of Tampa, and Troy State University. He is considered the leading authority on the Pearl Harbor attack. He lives in the Villages, Florida.

Katherine V. Dillon (1916-2005) was a chief warrant officer, United States Air Force (retired), and longtime collaborator with Gordon W. Prange and Donald M. Goldstein on their work. She served during World War II and the Korean War.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ POTOMAC BOOKS (October 31, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 157488221X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1574882216
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.47 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.41 x 11 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,198,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #822 in Photojournalism (Books)
- #2,947 in Japanese History (Books)
- #20,272 in World War II History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3.7 10 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Katherine V. Dillon
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Katherine V. Dillon (1916-2005) was a chief warrant officer, United States Air Force (retired), and longtime collaborator with Gordon W. Prange and Donald M. Goldstein on their work. She served during World War II and the Korean War.
See more on the author's page
Donald M. Goldstein
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Donald M. Goldstein is a retired United States Air Force officer, professor emeritus of public and international affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught for thirty-five years, a winner of two Peabody Awards, and author of many books. He has also taught at the Air Force Academy, the Air War College, the Air Command and Staff College, the University of Tampa, and Troy State University. He is considered the leading authority on the Pearl Harbor attack. He lives in the Villages, Florida.
See more on the author's page

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5

10 global ratings

3 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Michael Adams

'Rain of Ruin' is a book that is more relevant today than ever.

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

The world needs more books like 'Rain of Ruin' in order to make us aware of the true cost of war, especially when dealing with nuclear weapons. This book came out 50 years after destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the world still doesn't know the full story.

Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2015

Verified Purchase

Worthwhile as a supplement.

Helpful

Michael

Mostly establishment propoganda

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2003

Verified Purchase

First, I am in no way an apologist for the Japanese or the atrocities they committed before and during WWII. The official Japanese versions of events such as Nanking and the Korean "comfort" women and the people who perpetrate them are in as much denial as the people who defend the atomic bombs as being a military necessity. The winners don't necessarily write history-the textbook writers write it. And for the record, I do live and work in Japan, but having read many books on the subject, I have to view this book as being extremely biased toward the "establishment" version. Most of the Japanese I know are deeply ashamed of the horrors committed by their countrymen.
As for those who criticize "revisionist historians", of which the authors of this book obviously are not, I would ask, what other type of good historian is there? History is not static. It does change. Even if a historian finds evidence that corroborates the "establishment" view, they still have in a fashion "revised" history in that they have added to it. As any new evidence becomes available (e.g., from the FOIA), historians have to revise (these ideas were garnered from "Hiroshima in America" by Lifton and Mitchell. Also, isn't it funny, one never hears of "revisionist geologists," for example-guess they're too politically boring). In defense of the authors, at least they admit their bias from the beginning.
Onto the book, I rate it as a "2" not because of what it says (ok, some of what it says) but mostly for what it does not say, and, more importantly, what it does not show. Granted, many of the photos in the book are powerful, and should be shown--thus the "2". However, most that show the devastation of the bombs focus on the architectural damage, not the human damage. The extremely small percentage of photos that show victims are not extremely difficult to view and in no way show the vast horrors experienced by the victims. And yes, they were victims. Almost all were civilians, and contrary to a claim in the book, there were American victims in both cities, both POWs and American-Japanese who were in Japan at the start of the war. Both of these groups have had incredible difficulty in getting aid from either country after the war, as neither side wishes to claim responsibility.
Several of the photos do appear to have been doctored in one way or another. The most obvious one is on page 149, which purports to show a nurse with a group of orphans from the bombing of Kumamoto (I have no reason to deny this claim), in which the background is completely blacked-out. It is not made clear if the authors did this or the picture they received/found was already this way. Unfortunately, unlike scores of other pictures in which they offer commentary, no explanation is given for this. The only evidence of its origin is in the "Photo credits" section which credits one of the authors, Goldstein, and William Hendricks. This one instance severely undermines their version, in my humble opinion because it so clearly illustrates their bias. Why would a "photographic history", which takes great pains on many other occasions to explain and bring notice to other photographs, leave such a questionable one untouched?
The text of the book also avoids much of which has been shown to be true. As a scholarly document, the book is horrible. It does not use footnotes or endnotes so that independent verification can occur. It offers only a "brief bibliography" which is obviously tilted toward their bias.
For example, while the report of the US Strategic Bombing Survey is cited several times, the authors fail to include this VERY important quotation: "...certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had be planned or contemplated." The Japanese were beat. They knew it, we knew it, and the only thing holding up a surrender was the assurance of the emperor--which we gave them and which we probably shouldn't have.
Basically, the book fails on many levels. Again, it doesn't really show the true horror inflicted upon human beings. It would have been rightly justified in showing the human suffering caused by the Japanese, but that would have meant in some way admitting that the US was wrong in that it was militarily unjustified. It is not a scholarly work, as it offers not chance to verify/discredit their claims. It is not a history book as it is so *extremely* biased and completely refuses to challenge the claims against its stance. I would have much more respect for it if it would take on some of the "alternative" views. It is not a photographic history, at least not in a *complete* sense, in that it leaves out more than it shows.
Read these books, and if you can dispute their claims, write your own:
Hiroshima in America by Lifton and Mitchell
The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb by Alperovitz (the best and most complete of the ones I've read)
Hiroshima by Takaki
Finally, I believe that by saying the atomic bombs ended WWII takes credit away from the people who truly did end it-the soldiers in the Pacific theatre. Their contribution is diminished every time the bombs are given credit for the end of the war.

42 people found this helpful

Helpful

Anthony J. Ethridge

Delivered on time and as advertised.

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2015

Verified Purchase

Delivered on time and as advertised.

Helpful

Eric Krupin

Not one of the 100,000 corpses made it in. Not one.

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2005

The dust jacket of this book boasts that it is "the first comprehensive photographic record of the bombings". However, its idea of comprehensiveness - while finding room for a film poster of the 1952 Robert Taylor movie "Above and Beyond" - does not include *a single one* of the tens of thousands of corpses littering the ground of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

That's right. As far as the 500+ photographs in this "objective, informative volume" [quoting the dust jacket again] are concerned, our two atomic bombs - while producing a lot of rubble and five mild burn victims - did not cause a single fatality.

The chief author of this book is identified as "a retired U.S. Air Force officer". Make of this what you like.

40 people found this helpful

Helpful

carl

The Choice That Saved a Million Lives

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2000

THE ONLY BOOK OF IT'S TYPE!!! The complete pictorial history of the weapon that changed the way mankind thinks of his enemy and war. Goldstein, in previous books, has given the world the most complete picture of the start of the War in the Pacific,by telling us both sides of how and why the events occurred. Now he ends the war with the Manhatten project and the dropping of the two a-bombs. This book is the only one I know of that presents the effects on Nagaski, the forgotten city. As Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima have become SISTER CITIES you need to have "Rain of Ruin" as the definitive companion to your Pearl Harbor collection.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

JB

Learn some history!

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2010

This book is an important part of world history. To see the people who created and developed these horrific weapons and the places they were made brings those of us born after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki closer to their time.

Some reviewers complained that this book lacks the graphic photos of dead bodies and mutilated children. This is true. It does fall short of the gut wrenching scenes viewed by those who were there or came shortly after.

However it is sad to read that some believe the Japanese were going to surrender before these mighty weapons were used. The History Channel created a whole special episode about how only after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki did the Japanese emperor wish to surrender and even then his efforts were nearly blocked by the powerful military that vowed to never lay down there swords.

Throughout the pacific campaign American forces going from Island to island found the Japanese soldiers were fighting to the very end and ready to die for the emperor as well depicted in Clint Eastwood's Flags of our fathers.

We lost thousands and thousands of men just taking a number of small islands south of Japan. The best estimates of lost US men would be in the MILLIONS for taking the Japanese mainland, and the number of Japanese dead could be 30-50 millions. Fat-man and Little-boy scared the emperor and many other Japanese so much that surrender was the only option.

The fear of more nuclear horror saved millions of lives, ours and theirs.

Humans can fanatical in their crazy beliefs, as were the Japanese during WWII. Until the Emperor said "enough" the Japanese people would have endured any atrocity even nuclear hell to obey the authority bestowed to there military.

Fire bombings of Dresden and other German cities that burned thousands of people to death did not persuade Hitler to give-up. Perhaps a few nukes and he would have surrendered and saved the lives of millions of his people like the Japanese emperor did. Instead his kept fighting a lost cause until the end and left Germany a burned-out hulk of its once beautiful self.

Some people need to learn more history.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Follow the authors

Image Unavailable

Rain of Ruin: A Photographic History of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Paperback – October 31, 1999

Purchase options and add-ons

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the authors

Katherine V. Dillon

Donald M. Goldstein

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.