"Love" is not the right word to describe reading Hiroshima. It's a painful book to read. It's short--originally published in The New Yorker in 1946, and it's important. Before this book, no one really knew about how the atomic bomb affected the people of Hiroshima, and how devastating it was. I read this book because I started reading Fallout by Lesley Blume, about how John Hersey revealed to the world what had happened, and thought I should read Hersey's book first. I was also reading Bradford Morrow's novel Trinity Fields, and stopped that, too, until I read both Hersey and Blume. Hiroshima is a book everyone should read, just as Auschwitz is a place everyone should visit. A tough read and a tough visit, but they're subjects that should never be forgotten.
“One of the great classics of the war" (The New Republic) that tells what happened in Hiroshima through the memories of survivors—from a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped on a city. This book, John Hersey's journalistic masterpiece, tells what happened on that day. Told through the memories of survivors, this timeless, powerful and compassionate document has become a classic "that stirs the conscience of humanity" (The New York Times).
Almost four decades after the original publication of this celebrated book, John Hersey went back to Hiroshima in search…
When a book brings you to read another book, it's appreciated. Lesley Blume came to interview me about another project she's investigating, and she gave me her book Fallout. I started reading it the next day and after a few chapters, I thought I should stop and read Hiroshima by John Hersey--a book I should have read years ago. Once I finished Hersey's book, I could appreciate Blume's book all the more. She's a wonderful writer, and she has told an important story about one of the most shocking cover-ups of the 20th century.
Morrow takes us from Los Alamos in the 1950s to 1970 Laos to today. It's about the generation born with the atomic bomb, had to deal with Vietnam, and mature into the end of the century. How did I come by this book? I asked Joyce Carol Oates to recommend a good archivist. She passed on my request to Bradford Morrow, who was generous with his advice. In turn, I thought I should read his work, and started with Trinity Fields. Very glad I did, and I will continue reading him.
Capturing the anguish of a generation, the story of childhood friends who grew up in Los Alamos portrays anti-war protests, the conflicts of Laos, and a ghost soldier reappearing twenty-five years later. 35,000 first printing. $35,000 ad promo. Tour.
