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Gordon Thomas

Ruin from the Air: The Enola Gay's Atomic Mission to Hiroshima Paperback – August 1, 1990

by Gordon Thomas (Author), Max Morgan Witts (Author)

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Print length

386 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Scarborough House
Publication date

August 1, 1990
ISBN-10

0812885090
ISBN-13

978-0812885095
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is a reissue of Enola Gay (LJ 7/77) with 45,000 additional words and some changes in the original text. It gives an excruciatingly detailed account of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, concentrating on the Army Air Force but including much material on the decision-making process, the Japanese actions, and many diplomatic moves. Although the first edition was criticized by reviewers as having more detail than insight, the additional 60+ pages improve the virtually minute-by-minute coverage of the critical periods, particularly on Tinian and during the flight itself. This is certainly worth buying for libraries lacking the earlier edition and recommended even for those that own it.
- Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army TRA LINET Ctr., Fort Monroe, Va.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scarborough House; 1st edition (August 1, 1990)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 386 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0812885090
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0812885095
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds

Best Sellers Rank: #797,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7,765 in World War II History (Books)
- #41,395 in United States History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
86 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Mr. Los Angeles

A Treasure Trove of Material for WWII History Buffs!

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2013

Verified Purchase

Ruin from the Air is the expanded edition of a previous #! bestseller, ENOLA GAY. Authors Thomas and Witts have outdone themselves from the first edition, providing the reader with even more and seemingly never-ending details of the first atomic bombing, and the highly secretive efforts of the Manhattan Project to build The Bomb and prepare for the event that changed the world. The mission of the Enola Gay to Hiroshima in August of 1945 reads like a fascinating movie script, moving from scene-to-scene, day-by-day, told from the perspective of each side in the War of the Pacific. It is amazing how thoroughly researched this book is, and I highly commend the British authors for their dedicated effort in getting the story and all of its many characters right. For instance, the Chapter Notes and Bibliography are quite extensive, and in some instances provide further, updated details not covered in the book.
To quote from the authors, "As befits the subject [matter] of this book, we have striven throughout to be objective, factual and impartial, allowing only our conscience and the facts as we have discovered them to be our guide." And for that, gentlemen, I applaud you. / Mr. Los Angeles, December, 2013

11 people found this helpful

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Abel B. Delarosa

Enola Gay B-29

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2014

Verified Purchase

I have read similar books on the Japan bombings of August 1945, but this is the first book that, not only put me inside the B-29 Enola Gay with the aircrew and the bomb on its way to Japan, but also within the Los Alamos Laboratory and Wendover AFB to learn about the nuclear physicists' conversations and also, the airmen’s activities and conversations during the training efforts in the months leading up to the morning of August 6, 1945. Also, this book takes the reader into those “Top Secret” meetings and read the “Top Secret” memos and other correspondence of the time. The book contains (at the end) much documentation regarding the investigative ground-work for putting it together, with personal interviews of the many participants (both American and Japanese), official documents/reports/letters/memos which have since been de-classified and newspaper and magazine articles covering the topic. Needless to say, this book is very comprehensive. If you have any interest in American history specifically during World War II, this book is a must-read.

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2014

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Loved this book. Big part of my liking it so much is that the Enola Gay was stationed at Walker Air Force Base in my home town of Roswell, NM. AND, have studied quite a bit of history on WWII, including Los Alamos and the Manhattan project. White Sands where the first atomic device was tested in 1945 is just over the mountains from Roswell, too. Have talked to people in town who saw the bright, bright light from that test and we have visited Trinity Site several times. Excellent, easy read. AND, even though mentioned only once, James Van Pelt was the navigator assigned to the 393rd and he flew with Bokscar. My wife worked for his son, a neurologist for close to twenty years here in Roswell. Small world.

Helpful

I mostly enjoyed it

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2014

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I like the different point of views presented: the scientists, the soldiers, the enemies. A good, solid piece of non-fiction. Well worth your time, and at a good price, too.

Now that's I've finished it, I can finish the review. My only complaints were the loooong build-up to the bombing, and the aftermath. It was all very rushed after the first bomb dropped. Even the afterward wasn't as detailed as I hoped it would be.

A prime example of a short and rushed third act (act one: the build-up; act two: the bombing).

Not a bad book; it could've been so much better.

5 people found this helpful

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Char

Why it was necessary to develop and implement this weapon.

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2015

Verified Purchase

An very interesting pictorial book on the people who were involved in this project. I don't recommend getting it on Kindle because of the need to have good pictures. Buy the book. I gave each one of my sons a hard copy. My whole family is interested in history and this is one of the more fascinating books about the people who were involved and what it took to complete this very important project. It also explains why it was necessary to use the bomb.

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2014

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...even though you know how it comes out. It was quite slow through the concept and development of the bomb stages although there were many insights and facts with which I had been unaware. The last quarter of the book became quite riveting and made it hard to put down. I highly recommend this book to anyone who, like me, had only a casual knowledge of the subject matter even though it occurred during his lifetime. Further, this book lays out the justifications for the bomb's use quite well.

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2014

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This monumental book crowds so much personal detail into so few pages that you feel nearly one of the crew. It is spell-binding from the first page and I had a hard time putting it down. I do wish I had a better memory for names and it would be nice to have a list of them to remember who each person in the story is--but names is a problem I have. I don't usually like fiction, or even high drama, but this is important history. No fiction could equal it. Extremely well documented and yet the narrative was alive all the way through.

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Roger Robeson

An excellent book! It presented all of the facts leading up to, during and after the mission.

Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2013

Verified Purchase

I have really wondered about America dropping the bomb. I wondered about the thinking of the scientists and all of the people involved in the development of the bomb. I wondered about what President Roosevelt and President Truman thought of of the bomb and what options they considered. Finally, I wondered about what the crew of the Enola Gay thought leading up to and after the mission.

This book presented the facts that answered all of my questions. I now have a more informed personal opinion on whether we should have used the bomb.

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