Hiroshima

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Summary: Hiroshima
Review: John Hersey¡¦s ¡§Hiroshima¡¨ is a tale of survival for the book depicts how and what the witnesses and survivors of the atomic bomb overcame. An outsider might consider someone who had escaped the life-threatening situation of the bombing lucky, but each survivor had to endure the aftermath. The effects, ranging from the guilt of living, lost of friends or family members, physical disabilities caused by the bombing, made the lives of survivors extremely difficult. Throughout the narratives of six different characters, they each went through diverse ways of surviving the bomb and many other side effects both physically and emotionally.

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima was an unexpected event for the residents of the city. Surviving the initial blast proved to be only the first step in the emerging nuclear age. When the bomb struck, in knee-jerking reactions each victim reacted differently towards ¡§the tremendous flash of light that cut across the sky.¡¨ (p.5) Other than the nimbleness of the Hiroshima citizens, their escapes from death were a matter of luck. Some of the survivors were shielded by barriers and some by simply turning away. For example, Mr. Tanimoto, the pastor of the Hiroshima Methodist Church, ¡§threw himself between two big rocks in the garden¡¨ (p.5) in order to avoid the flash. As for Mr. Sasaki, a surgeon working at the Red Cross Hospital, ¡§he was one step beyond an open window when the light of the bomb was reflected¡¨ (p.14). He ducked in order to avoid the ¡§gigantic photographic flash.¡¨ (p.14) During this flash of light, thousands of people perished, yet Hersey¡¦s focus follows the trail of those who were spared.

After the bombing, the survivors not only have to face injuries and emotional pain, but also faced the challenge of rebuilding their lives. Hiroshima was left without the necessary requirements of life such as water and food. These needs were met by in the short-term by the outside aid agencies, but the long-term challenge of recreating a life was left to the determination of the hibakushas. Life was easier for the survivors twelve years later when the Hibakusha Medical Law was put into effect. The law provided a wider range for assisting the health, medical treatment and the welfare of the survivors. Yet, in each case, the six survivors have somehow constructed a meaningful life.

In the medium and long-term aftermath of the bombing, the struggle for survival continued. Researchers noticed unusual diseases and symptoms appearing in the hibakushas. Survivors were developing ¡§A-bomb cataracts¡¨ p.104, including stunted growth of children and mutated babies with heads smaller than normal. It was found that some of the pregnant women exposed to radiation had given birth to children with severe mental retardation. This condition is known as, microcephaly. These problems exacerbated the suffering of the survivors, especially given the traditional Japanese attitudes toward handicapped children. Other strange symptoms appeared also, some unexpected and some problems kept re-occurring, problems such as leukemia and cancers. A-bomb victims have to live through the fear of undetected diseases emerging without prior warning. The psychological effects also influenced the hibakushas, the deaths of family members or friends and the aftereffect of exposure to radiation can heighten survivor¡¦s anxiety and fears.

Aside from the physical wounds, emotional wounds were even harder to mend. The hard-gained properties of the survivors might be destroyed, leaving the hibakushas penniless and homeless. Not just the lost of material goods but the lives of family members might also be gone or endangered by severe injuries. More distressing, people also suffer from ¡§survivor guilt¡¨. For example, men lived while women died, parents outlived their children, and wives or husbands widowed. Even worse, some hibakushas might suffer because they ran away, ignoring people¡¦s ¡§Give me water¡¨ (p.31) and ¡§Help me.¡¨ (p.18) For instance, in the book, Mr. Tanimoto ¡§realized he was taking to much time¡¨ (p.31) to ¡§carry water to the suffering strangers¡¨ (p.31), he decided to ¡§run away¡¨ (p.31) from those who were ¡§crying their thirst.¡¨ (p.31)

The memories still linger and haunt the survivors¡¦ lives. Like in the story, Dr. Sasaki was bothered by not having to identify the corpses dragged out to the mass cremations, where ¡§with the nameless souls might still, all these years later, be hovering there, unattended and dissatisfied.¡¨ (p.109)

Rating:
Summary: An important work
Review: Hiroshima is a book that reconstructs the experiences of several people, including a German missionary, following the dropping of the A-Bomb on that city. It is a quite graphic and moving account, one that evokes the true horror that the survivors experienced. The debate as to whether the dropping of A-Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary will probably never be solved. Personally, I don't think it was necessary, but that is irrelevant here. The book is simply an attempt to put a human face on the incident, the failure or denial of which makes such heinous acts possible (I'm not defending the Japanese--they too committed unspeakable atrocities). The book's message is one of great importance, and therefore very much worth reading.

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Summary: Shocking
Review: An extremely vivid picture of atomic energy. It is scary to think of the consequences that occur in wartimes. It is probably one of the best books I have ever read. I would highly recommend this selection.

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Summary: The unthinkable made real...
Review: One of the most socially important books of the twentieth century, inspiring thousands to work to eliminate these truly evil weapons, "Hiroshima" by John Hersey is composed in clear prose which lets the horrific event and its aftermath stand for itself, with no commentary or moralizing. It may be cliche, but this short book should be read by every citizen of our nation (the only country which shamefully used the worst weapon of mass destruction ever devised--not once, but twice). Nowadays, in our 24-hour media-saturated milieu, we seem to filter the tragic through a peculiar detached distance. "Expert" commentary and gloss go simultaneous with the news events themselves; indeed the media feeding frenzy becomes the story half the time. In contrast, "Hiroshima" is powerful in its understated prose and its six unforgettable narratives.

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Summary: A brilliantly detailed account
Review: Hiroshima dutifully records the prelude and aftermath of the world's first atomic bomb attack, capturing not only the stories and perceptions of the five individuals interviewed after the attack but also the details of how both the people and the city were transformed by the bomb. The accounts of the effects of radiation and nuclear weapons were groundbreaking when they were published, as concepts such as radiation sickness were new to most of the world. This book is essential for understanding the history of warfare.

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Summary: A true classic and should be mandatory reading for all!
Review: Great account and read!

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Summary: A Boring Book.
Review: Ok, I had to read this book for school and it was boring. We was hearing the book from a tape and i kinda felt like going to sleep. My teacher said it's a hard book to read (maybe because it kinda reads like a newspaper) Read this book if you want to.

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Summary: a Must read
Review: With all the diverse happenings of World War Two only a few events have left a lasting mark on our conscience, as well as the areas at which they took place: the bombing of Pearl Harbor; American internment camps; German labor and extermination camps; the Battle of Britain; and the atomic horror, Hiroshima. These have become common World War Two lore in the United States. But with all the dry, one-sided history texts we learn from a change of vantage becomes refreshing and sometimes even necessary. This is where supplemental readings become invaluable to seeing history in a broader perspective. Books such as Hiroshima allow the reader to transcend the cold facts of history texts.

John Hersey's Hiroshima is a series of detailed journalistic accounts taken from various survivors at Hiroshima. August 6th, 1945, an infamous day for many the world over, and many more in Japan and more so for the survivors of what some people believed a needless travesty. However for Miss Toshinki Sasaki, Dr. Masakazu Fuji, Mrs Hatsuyo Nakamura, Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, Dr. Terfumi Sasaki and the Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto this day was a day of immeasurable luck against all the odds, this was the day they lived and this is a book chronicling their stories. A last minute decision to help some one move old clothes for a goodwill drive, the luck of the Irish saving a Japanese man suspended by parts of his own house, a woman struggling to free her own kids from the rubble and then clothe them, a quickly timed decision to go this way instead of that, each of these stories relating to the blinding flash of the noiseless death that each of them lived through is remarkably told by John Hersey.

John Hersey's book brings to life the horrors unleashed by the atomic genie of the age in a vivid, horrific and humanly emphasizing way. It gives depth to one of the last acts of World War Two and a glimpse of how "Human" the declared enemy is. It gives us a comparative look at our neighbors in the world and how our differences are our similarities, as well as our common interests. I found this book to be of great interest and added a wealth of knowledge that allowed at least one aspect of the war to be grounded in my reality. It shows the reader an uncensored view of the life during the war and in Hiroshima at the time of and after the bombing. It gives the reader everything from daily routines and chores that the citizens were occupying themselves with, the response to the flash, the confusion of the citizens, the after affects of the fallout, the state of the ruinous city, are each described by the six individuals interviewed by John Hersey. I believe this is a great read and a written memorial to all those who lived, died and were born throughout this time-it also serves as a great warning of the power we as humans have to create, or create destruction.

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Summary: Powerfully objective
Review: This book is powerfully objective. The facts and the details, the hardships that the six main characters go through make you question President Truman's morals and true consideration in his execution of the operation that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

The novel loses some steam in the last twenty pages or so, but I still highly recommend it if you don't have to read it for school.

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Summary: Does What It Was Written To Do
Review: Don't be fooled by the 5 stars, Hiroshima is not the best written, nor most challenging book one will ever read, in fact, in those areas this book does not even come close. However, John Hersey's promise of opening the world's eyes to the horrors of the "bomb" is fulfilled to the very last sentiment in this classic book.

This book was simply a school assignment for me, I honestly can say I would not have read it otherwise. Nevertheless, after reading it I began to question my indifference towards World War II, and even more- the threat of nuclear war. Bombs like the "A-bomb" have never fallen on the USA, and that may be why most Americans don't blink at the mention of atomic warfare.

For those of you who have two or three hours to spare, and are interested in the chaos that about 10 pounds of uranium and 5 pounds of radium can create, this is a succint and timeless novel (which would pass for a mass-biography) which will hopefully remain on college and high school English cirriculums for years to come.