Book description
Japan 1945. In one of the defining moments of the twentieth century,
more than 100,000 people were killed instantly by two atomic bombs
dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by US Air Force B29s. Hundreds of
thousands more succumbed to their horrific injuries, or slowly
perished of radiation-related sickness.
Hiroshima Nagasaki tells the story of the tragedy through the
eyes of the survivors, from the twelve-year-olds forced to work in war
factories to the wives and children who faced it alone. Through their
harrowing personal testimonies, we are reminded that these were
ordinary people, given no warning and no chance to escape the horror.
American leaders claimed that the bombings were 'our least abhorrent
choice' and fell strictly on 'military targets'. Even today, most
people believe they ended the Pacific War and saved millions of
American and Japanese lives. Hiroshima Nagasaki challenges this
deep-set perception, revealing that the atomic bombings were the final
crippling blow to the Japanese in a stratgic air war waged primarily
against civilians.
Paul Ham is the author of the highly acclaimed Kokoda
(HarperCollins, 2004) and is the Australia correspondent of the London
Sunday Times.
He was born and educated in Australia and lives in Sydney, having
spent several years working in Britain as a journalist and publisher.
