1/30/23

Isn't it strange that in times of intense tragedy (like your country being at war), that one could be lulled into a false sense of security just because of the Boy Who Cried Wolf syndrome? When the village of Hiroshima was bombed many people didn't heed the warnings. Even those responsible for alerting others to oncoming attacks didn't see it coming. What are you supposed to do when the system you are taught to trust gives the "all clear" signal? How are you supposed to react?
Hiroshima follows the lives of six Hiroshima bombing survivors from the moments before the blast on August 6th, 1945 at 8:15 a.m. to the aftermath of the following year: Miss Toshiko Sasaki, Dr. Masakazu Fujii, Mrs. Hatsyo Nakamura, Dr. Terufumi Sasaki (no relation to Miss Toshiko), Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, and Reverend Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto.
Fair warning: you will be privy to excruciating details about their injuries and subsequent health issues. People with no outward visible wounds had a delayed response to radiation sickness with symptoms difficult to fathom. Your heart will break to read of their confusion when trying to understand what happened to them. Theories and rumors about the "strange weapon" abounded. For example, for a while people assumed powdered magnesium was dumped on power lines, creating explosions and subsequent fires. Survivors believed they were doused with gasoline. ( )

Hiroshima originally appeared in the New Yorker. The author wishes to thank the editors of that magazine, expecially Mr. Harold Ross and Mr. William Shawn, for their considerable share in its preparation.

Narrative of the lives of several survivors of the bomb, and their account of that day and days afterward.

Nieuwe editie met epiloog waarin het leven van de 6 slachtoffers na de oorlog beschreven wordt. ( )

After reading [b:Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World|52764193|Fallout The Hiroshima Cover-up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World|Lesley M.M. Blume|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576421390l/52764193._SY75_.jpg|73727728], I had to go back and read the book that it talked about. Somehow, I'd missed this book in all my years of reading.

I'm glad I corrected that.

This is a horrible book, but there's an undercurrent of tenaciousness and hope that carries it. There's so many enlightening, incredibly human moments, that make the book more bearable. And while there's not a lot of direct finger pointing at Americans, there is an incredible disparity between the reactions of those who survived the Hiroshima bombing, and those who were responsible for it.

Fantastic, important book. ( )