Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World
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- Author：Lesley M.M. Blume
- ISBN：1982128534
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Summary
New York Times bestselling author Lesley M。M。 Blume reveals how a courageous reporter uncovered one of greatest and deadliest cover-ups of the 20th century--the true effects of the atom bomb--potentially saving millions of lives。
In the days following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki， the Japanese surrendered unconditionally。 But even before the surrender， the US had begun a secret propaganda campaign to celebrate these weapons as the ultimate peacekeepers--hiding the true extent and nature of their devastation。 The cover-up intensified as Americans closed the atomic cities to Allied reporters， preventing information from leaking about the horrific and lasting effects of radiation which would kill thousands of people during the months after the blast。 For nearly a year the cover-up worked--until New Yorker journalist John Hersey got into Hiroshima and reported the truth to the world。
As Hersey and his editors prepared his article for publication， they kept the whistleblowing story secret--even from most of their New Yorker colleagues。 When the magazine published "Hiroshima" in August， 1946， it became an instant global sensation， and inspired pervasive horror about the weapons that had been covertly waged in America's name。 Since 1945， no nuclear weapons have ever been deployed in war in part because Hersey alerted the world to their true， devastating impact。 This knowledge has remained among the greatest deterrents to using them since the end of World War II。
Released on the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing， Fallout is an engrossing detective story， as well as an important piece of hidden history that shows how one heroic scoop saved--and can still save--the world。
In the days following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki， the Japanese surrendered unconditionally。 But even before the surrender， the US had begun a secret propaganda campaign to celebrate these weapons as the ultimate peacekeepers--hiding the true extent and nature of their devastation。 The cover-up intensified as Americans closed the atomic cities to Allied reporters， preventing information from leaking about the horrific and lasting effects of radiation which would kill thousands of people during the months after the blast。 For nearly a year the cover-up worked--until New Yorker journalist John Hersey got into Hiroshima and reported the truth to the world。
As Hersey and his editors prepared his article for publication， they kept the whistleblowing story secret--even from most of their New Yorker colleagues。 When the magazine published "Hiroshima" in August， 1946， it became an instant global sensation， and inspired pervasive horror about the weapons that had been covertly waged in America's name。 Since 1945， no nuclear weapons have ever been deployed in war in part because Hersey alerted the world to their true， devastating impact。 This knowledge has remained among the greatest deterrents to using them since the end of World War II。
Released on the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing， Fallout is an engrossing detective story， as well as an important piece of hidden history that shows how one heroic scoop saved--and can still save--the world。
Reviews
David Agranoff
，
Fascinating book that is more about how the story of Hiroshima was told rather than about the effects of the bomb。
Michael
，
I found this a remarkable book in several ways。 At some point， probably in 7th or 8th grade， I read Hiroshima by John Hersey and it made a significant impression and looking back I realize it formed my thinking about nuclear weapons。 Reading this provides an understanding of how this book came to be， and perhaps just as importantly， how it might not have been produced。The discussion of the aftermath of the book's publication is also something of a learning experience， even if it is somewhat less I found this a remarkable book in several ways。 At some point， probably in 7th or 8th grade， I read Hiroshima by John Hersey and it made a significant impression and looking back I realize it formed my thinking about nuclear weapons。 Reading this provides an understanding of how this book came to be， and perhaps just as importantly， how it might not have been produced。The discussion of the aftermath of the book's publication is also something of a learning experience， even if it is somewhat less compelling reading than the first part of the book。The book ends up some lessons learned， if you will， that related directly to our time with the most recent president who was voted out。Perhaps the most pleasing aspect is that I got so much from a book of only 183 pages and a fast （and compelling） read - this seems appropriate since the subject was a book of only 160 pages that was originally published as a single issue of the New Yorker magazine。 。。。more
Rob Hocking
，
This is a book about the writing of the 1946 August edition of the New Yorker， in which the entire magazine was just one long story on the Hiroshima bombing。 In some ways， the article is better than the book， and the most useful thing that the book did is make me aware of the articles existence: https://www。newyorker。com/magazine/19。。。The article is very long but worth the read - however， I was very disturbed by the following passage:About a week after the bomb dropped， a vague， incomprehensible This is a book about the writing of the 1946 August edition of the New Yorker， in which the entire magazine was just one long story on the Hiroshima bombing。 In some ways， the article is better than the book， and the most useful thing that the book did is make me aware of the articles existence: https://www。newyorker。com/magazine/19。。。The article is very long but worth the read - however， I was very disturbed by the following passage:About a week after the bomb dropped， a vague， incomprehensible rumor reached Hiroshima—that the city had been destroyed by the energy released when atoms were somehow split in two。 The weapon was referred to in this word-of-mouth report as genshi bakudan—the root characters of which can be translated as “original child bomb。” No one understood the idea or put any more credence in it than in the powdered magnesium and such things。 Newspapers were being brought in from other cities， but they were still confining themselves to extremely general statements， such as Domei’s assertion on August 12th: “There is nothing to do but admit the tremendous power of this inhuman bomb。” Already， Japanese physicists had entered the city with Lauritsen electroscopes and Neher electrometers; they understood the idea all too well。The Japanese word for "atom bomb" that the article refers to is 原子爆弾， which looks almost identical when written in Chinese: 原子彈。 原子 means atom in both Chinese and Japanese - it's just pronounced differently - and bomb could be 炸彈 or just 彈 to be brief， so it's literally "atom bomb"， just like in English。 But the author seems to think that the word "Atom" - 原子 - comes from "original child"。 To me this seems very dubious。 原 does indeed mean "original"， and 子 - when read in Chinese - can indeed sometimes be an abbreviation for "child"。 But mostly in Chinese 子 is a marker that you put at the end of a noun to say "hey， this is a noun" - including in the noun 孩子 - child - which sometimes gets shortened to just 子。 But in Japanese - and we are talking about Japanese - the role of 子 is different - it's more like "really small thing"。 Some of the Japanese words that use 子 this way got imported into Chinese around the year 1900 - there is a good article about it here - https://kknews。cc/culture/mbj2aeg。html - and these words of course inherited the Japanese usage。 That's why the Chinese word 子彈 - bullet - looks weird with the 子 at the beginning instead of the end where it's supposed to be - it's because 子彈 was originally a Japanese word meaning roughly "tiny bomb" that then got imported into Chinese。All of my Chinese tutors agree that the translation in the New Yorker is most likely incorrect， and one of them helped me find an article on the etymology of a bunch of Science Words that got imported into both Chinese and Japanese around 1900。 The article is here: https://www。researchgate。net/publicat。。。and it is by 王彩芹， a professor of Japanese at Shandong university in China: https://snea。wh。sdu。edu。cn/info/1012/。。。I emailed professor 王彩芹 asking about the new Yorker article and its dubious translation， and she wrote back to me agreeing that the interpretation is a bit of a stretch and a bit forced， but stopped short of calling it outright wrong:罗伯霍金 你好，感谢你的来信。 我用了几天查阅了一些资料（非原始资料），希望能帮到你。 ‘原子’一词应该日本创造的词，日本近代词典《哲学字汇》（1881）中已经收录了该词。后来这个词大概在20世纪初传入汉语。19世纪末有大量中国人赴日本留学，具体应该是通过在日留学生编辑的《译书汇编》（1900？）《新尔雅》（1903）等书传播到了中国，然后慢慢固定使用。我似乎在文章中提到过19世纪80年代左右，日本的新词也没有完全统一，因此才会出现既有原子也有尺振八所谓”分子“的现象。也有可能分子是尺振八的误译，或者自己独有的翻译。 另外你还提到The New Yorker把「genshi bakudan」翻译作「original child bomb」。文章中的原句是：the root characters of which can be translated as “original child bomb。”，我想这篇文章作者大概认为“原”字的意思是original，“子”的意思的“child”，因此翻译成了“original child bomb”吧。这种翻译虽然很有趣会吸引美国读者了解genshi这个词，但也有点牵强，因为我们并不知道19世纪中后期创造该词的日本人当时的想法，况且我相信20世纪40年代日语辞典中atom 与genshi的对应关系已经非常稳定了。 还有一件事情比较有趣，我记得很久之前我看过相关的纪录片，隐约记得美军给原子弹起了一个代号，叫做小男孩？孩子？。是不是与「original child bomb」这个翻译有某种联系呢？ 以上就是我的回答，不知道对你来说有没有帮助。 非常高兴认识你，如有需要请尽管来信。另外你的中文真的很好，这让我很惊讶，我的英文如果也能这么好就好了，只能用中文回复你了，抱歉。 王彩芹 山东大学I feel very puzzled that the New Yorker would make such an error， because the book "Fallout" makes it very clear that they put a lot of work into the editing - agonizing over every word - and they should have had sophisticated translators available to them。Unfortunately， I haven't had a chance to dig deeper into the matter because work is so busy， but sooner or later I'll get to the bottom of it。 Perhaps in a few years I can go do a second masters in the etymology of Japanese words with 王彩芹 as my supervisor， and we can figure it out together。The book also talks about how the US government censored tried at first to cover up certain aspects of the bombing such as radiation sickness - because they wanted to hold the moral high ground and conceal the horror of what they had done in Hiroshima - but later they changed their minds when they released that the USSR was probably going to develop an atomic bomb， American cities might well be targeted， and therefore citizens needed to be informed about the true nature of the bomb in order to be prepared。 The US military actually read the 1946 New Yorker article in its entirety and cleared it for publication - originally， the plan had been to not inform the military， but the previous month an ambiguously worded law had been passed that could possibly make publishing the article a criminal offense， and so the authors decided they needed to clear it with the military， who surprisingly ok'ed it's publication （most likely for the pragmatic reason just mentioned）。 。。。more
Anne
，
This book recounts the story of John Hersey's New Yorker article on the impact of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima。 I am surprised and embarrassed that I had never heard of Hersey。 He was an extremely talented journalist who not only embedded with troops during WWII but also received a Pulitzer Prize for a novel by the time he was 30。 The US government and military had done their best to prevent the American public from learning just how devastating the bomb had been and especially the deaths from r This book recounts the story of John Hersey's New Yorker article on the impact of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima。 I am surprised and embarrassed that I had never heard of Hersey。 He was an extremely talented journalist who not only embedded with troops during WWII but also received a Pulitzer Prize for a novel by the time he was 30。 The US government and military had done their best to prevent the American public from learning just how devastating the bomb had been and especially the deaths from radiation， but Hersey was able to get into the city and reveal the extent of the atrocity by profiling six survivors。 The New Yorker under founder Harold Ross and editor William Shawn deviated from its traditional lighthearted fare and cartoons and devoted an entire issue to the article， gambling that it would send shock waves through the country。 It did。 While many people were horrified to learn what really happened， it was interesting that the article also elicited a backlash and calls for a story about what American POWs suffered at the hands of the Japanese。 The usual suspects just can't handle the truth。 I thought Blume did a nice job of telling the story without padding the book with extraneous detail。 。。。more
Ray
，
Many may remember reading John Hersey's book Hiroshima years ago。 A moving and powerful book， journalist John Hersey described the devistation to the city of Hiroshima and it's people after the dropping of an atomic bomb on the city at the conclusion of WWII。 I'd read Hersey's book years and years ago while still in high school， but never thought much about how Mr。 Hersey got his story。 Now， in her book， "Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-Up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World"， author Lesl Many may remember reading John Hersey's book Hiroshima years ago。 A moving and powerful book， journalist John Hersey described the devistation to the city of Hiroshima and it's people after the dropping of an atomic bomb on the city at the conclusion of WWII。 I'd read Hersey's book years and years ago while still in high school， but never thought much about how Mr。 Hersey got his story。 Now， in her book， "Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-Up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World"， author Lesley Blume tells how John Hersey came to write his story some 75 years ago。 She describes the difficulty reporters faced in reporting from Japan and especially from the city of Hiroshima after the bombing， and how John Hersey managed to get around the obstacles put in his way to get his interviews。 The troubles Hersey faced to get his story were many， but to me， any roadblocks put in place by military authorities wouldn't be unexpected。 Lesley Blume described the obstacles placed in Hersey's way as being due to a military and government cover-up of the after effects of the bombings。 However， I would think keeping civilians， authorized or not， out of an area impacted by an atomic bomb would be a logical and necessary step。 The effects of an atomic bomb blast were just becoming understood， exposure to radiation needed to be controlled， and damaged needed to be fully assessed and understood。 I didn't see the conspiracy。 Civilan targets are hardly unusual during war， and military leaders accept， and sometimes have even planned to inflict civilian casualties。 In WW II， Germany used the V-1 rocket to kill and terrorize Londoners， and the seige of Stalingrad led to tens of thousands of civilian deaths。 The RAF and U。S。 used area bombing of German cities， designed to destroy military targets as well as civilian housing。 The civilan deaths caused by fire bombing of Dresden in Germany and Tokyo in Japan were of the same order of magnitude as those caused by the atomic bombings in Japan。 And I'm not aware of the civilian losses from the Tokyo or Dresden bombings being covered up or suppressed at that time。 In fact， military leaders have justified indiscriminate area and carpet bombings as a way to end wars sooner。 Perhaps military and government leaders didn't want survivors of the atomic bombing to tell stories of suffering， but I would imagine the stories from survivors of the fire bombing in Dresden or Tokyo， stories of being trapped in burning buildings and being nearly burned alive， would be equally horrifying。 Regardless of intent， Blume points out that Hersey certainly had to navigate numerous barriers placed in his path to get his story。 There were official censors， military handlers， and numerous administrative hurdles to navigate in order to get into Hiroshima to interview survivors and file his story， and that alone made her book interesting。 Hersey's investigation into the toll the atomic bomb took on Hiroshima was a difficult story。 It's amazing， after reading about the devistation， the city didn't end up being abandonded as a nuclear wasteland。 Instead， it's been transformed into a thriving city today。 But Blume's book， like Hersey's before her， remind us that there are few positives to be taken from war and the destruction of cities， especially recognizing the terrible impact on children and non-combatants。 。。。more
Glenn Miller
，
A page-turning account of John Hersey's quest to tell the human cost of the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima。 Hersey -- and New Yorker editors Harold Ross and William Shawn -- are able to tell the story despite the obstacles put before them by the American government。 This is a true hero's journey。 This background makes a rereading of Hersey's story that much more meaningful and impressive。 A page-turning account of John Hersey's quest to tell the human cost of the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima。 Hersey -- and New Yorker editors Harold Ross and William Shawn -- are able to tell the story despite the obstacles put before them by the American government。 This is a true hero's journey。 This background makes a rereading of Hersey's story that much more meaningful and impressive。 。。。more
Kgroomusa
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Audio
Shrike58
，
Though I'm not quite sure exactly when （probably the last year of high school， circa 1976-77）， I have read Hershey's seminal work about the experience of Hiroshima。 It was therefore quite instructive to learn what it took to bring that story to a wider public， and the initial impact。 I'm perhaps less shocked than the author that there was such reluctance to talk about the reality of what an atomic attack looked like， considering the depth of secrecy associated with the U。S。 nuclear program。 I al Though I'm not quite sure exactly when （probably the last year of high school， circa 1976-77）， I have read Hershey's seminal work about the experience of Hiroshima。 It was therefore quite instructive to learn what it took to bring that story to a wider public， and the initial impact。 I'm perhaps less shocked than the author that there was such reluctance to talk about the reality of what an atomic attack looked like， considering the depth of secrecy associated with the U。S。 nuclear program。 I also find it less ironic that the "New Yorker" went to Leslie Groves himself to get clearance to publish， considering that the U。S。 government had been quite capable of providing the unvarnished truth if the need was felt to basically rile up the American populace， and Groves had his own agenda that he thought the article could advance。 However， considering the other failures of honesty in Washington's behavior as a great power （Tonkin Gulf， the bombing of Cambodia， the invasion of Iraq， etc。）， there is certainly a trend here that could use further examination。 。。。more
Jane
，
I had no idea that the U。S。 government had covered up the true facts of Hiroshima so this books was quite an eye-opener for me。 Blume did a fantastic amount of research in order to share how John Hersey uncovered the truth。 "After the war， the Germans had professed that they hadn't known what happened in their concentration camps。。。Americans were now in a comparable position and looked like 'amoral fools。' Hiroshima had not been treated as a crime because it was a victor's handiwork。 Americans i I had no idea that the U。S。 government had covered up the true facts of Hiroshima so this books was quite an eye-opener for me。 Blume did a fantastic amount of research in order to share how John Hersey uncovered the truth。 "After the war， the Germans had professed that they hadn't known what happened in their concentration camps。。。Americans were now in a comparable position and looked like 'amoral fools。' Hiroshima had not been treated as a crime because it was a victor's handiwork。 Americans immediately needed to be told everything that had happened in this tremendous event and could 'tolerate to more concealment。' The country's moral stature was at stake。" 。。。more
Shawn
，
Some interesting nuggets， but it felt really insubstantial， like it could have been a long form magazine article。
Kevin
，
Good book， relies heavily on the document written by John Hersey that details events of Hiroshima and follows 6 survivors of the atom bomb dropped there。 Fallout really discusses the politics and coverup of what happened， the post effects of the bomb and other issues related to those events。
Lisa Lieberman
，
I read Hersey's Hiroshima in high school， and that book has stayed with me all these years。 Lesley M。M。 Blume explains why。 I wish I had time to say more， but we're in the process of moving house。 Hope to revisit when we're settled in our new， downsized digs。 I read Hersey's Hiroshima in high school， and that book has stayed with me all these years。 Lesley M。M。 Blume explains why。 I wish I had time to say more， but we're in the process of moving house。 Hope to revisit when we're settled in our new， downsized digs。 。。。more
Jeff Macey
，
The story of great journalism and the exposing of a government cover-up。 Didn't know about Hersey's article and the wide spread effects on people that may have saved the world from future atomic catastrophe！ Great read！ The story of great journalism and the exposing of a government cover-up。 Didn't know about Hersey's article and the wide spread effects on people that may have saved the world from future atomic catastrophe！ Great read！ 。。。more
Dan Wilcox
，
This is a story about a story。I've read John Hersey's Hiroshima many， many times。 Since 2005 I've organized public， community readings of Hiroshima on August 6 each year。 Prior to that I participated in many similar readings since the mid-1980s that were organized by Albany poet & peace activist the late Tom Nattell who inspired me to continue on， & once read it twice on the same day。 It is the kind of story that always seems to have something new， that always moves， even angers。 This book， Fall This is a story about a story。I've read John Hersey's Hiroshima many， many times。 Since 2005 I've organized public， community readings of Hiroshima on August 6 each year。 Prior to that I participated in many similar readings since the mid-1980s that were organized by Albany poet & peace activist the late Tom Nattell who inspired me to continue on， & once read it twice on the same day。 It is the kind of story that always seems to have something new， that always moves， even angers。 This book， Fallout， is much like its subject。 Instead of the story of 6 Hibakusha of Hersey's book， this is the story of Hersey & his book。 It is told in the same simple， straight-forward， declarative style & is moving in its own way in its portrait of the men （it is all men） who brought Hersey's story to the world， the aftermath， & the continuing anti-nuclear movement that the book helped to spawn。Read it & read （& re-read） John Hersey's Hiroshima。 。。。more
Bruce MacDonald
，
How the book came to beI first read Hiroshima in the mid '50s， I've reread several times since。 As I aged， I began to wonder how the book came to be， and how factual it was。 Both questions answered here。 How the book came to beI first read Hiroshima in the mid '50s， I've reread several times since。 As I aged， I began to wonder how the book came to be， and how factual it was。 Both questions answered here。 。。。more
Danielle C。
，
Now for something different in the new year。 The story about the bombshell （haha） 1946 article in the New Yorker about the bombing of Hiroshima that was said to open the worlds eyes to the human horror of the atomic bomb。 Definitely not my usual read but it is actually a fantastic account of media manipulation and government coverup which might be relevant in recent times。 Quick read and straightforward even for those who might not have read the original article that this story is about。
Paige Garratt
，
Definitely an interesting portrait of reporting about the bomb and how journalists struggled to portray the human costs effectively。 Would have helped to read the Hiroshima article first。
Cheryl
，
This was an interesting book。 I didn’t realize that the US government， in collaboration with the media， covered up the seriousness of the radiation sickness and medical after-effects of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki。 The US government did not want it widely known that the radiation from the bomb blast literally melted faces of those exposed to it and caused long term medical damage to people living in the area who were exposed to the radiation。 After the end of the This was an interesting book。 I didn’t realize that the US government， in collaboration with the media， covered up the seriousness of the radiation sickness and medical after-effects of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki。 The US government did not want it widely known that the radiation from the bomb blast literally melted faces of those exposed to it and caused long term medical damage to people living in the area who were exposed to the radiation。 After the end of the war in Europe， Americans had begun to see images from Nazi death camps and the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Nazis。 Our government didn’t want the horrific effects of the radiation from the bombs we dropped known to the public。 Although Americans saw the photographs of the rubble in these two cities， until John Hersey wrote his article “Hiroshima，” which was published in the New Yorker magazine in August 1946， most people had no idea of the human devastation that occurred when the two atomic bombs were detonated in 1945。 。。。more
Dave Reads
，
On August 6， 1945， the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima which killed more than 100，000 people in an instant。 Three days later after the US attacked Nagasaki， Japan surrendered。 “Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-Up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World，” tells the story of how the US Government and a compliant press failed to disclose the true impact of the bombings。 One prominent newspaper editorial said， “United States scientists say the atomic bomb will not have any linger On August 6， 1945， the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima which killed more than 100，000 people in an instant。 Three days later after the US attacked Nagasaki， Japan surrendered。 “Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-Up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World，” tells the story of how the US Government and a compliant press failed to disclose the true impact of the bombings。 One prominent newspaper editorial said， “United States scientists say the atomic bomb will not have any lingering aftereffects in the devastated area。” Blume summarizes the approach of American officials: On the home front， U。S。 government officials corralled the population into thinking of the atom bomb as a conventional superbomb， painting it in terms of TNT and denying its radioactive aftermath。” We now know that wasn’t true。 While many died instantly， radiation killed many more。 Lesley M。M。 Blume， follows the work of reporter John Hersey who received the support of the New Yorker to obtain permission to visit Hiroshima to tell the true story。 Because of his previous work writing mostly upbeat feature stories， the military was not suspicious of Hersey。 But when he returned to the states， Hersey wrote a 30，000-word story that featured the story of six survivors and their experiences。“Fallout” is a well-researched book about the bravery of a journalist and his publisher and what a government will do to control a story。 It is a story about war， but also what happens if journalists are not there to report on these situations。 Blume writes， “The death of an independent press can lead to tyranny and render a population helpless to protect itself against a government that disdains law and conscience。” 。。。more
Lori Gibbany
，
Lots of information， well written
Lauren
，
Was not expecting to like this as much as I did。 Excellent journalism and storytelling。 Loved the epilogue and contemporary reflection。
DeAnne
，
Great book！ This is the story of how "The New Yorker" reporter - John Hersey - was able to obtain entry into Hiroshima and interview 6 survivors of the atomic bomb blast。 “Most of the reporting up to that time had to do with the power of the bomb and how much damage it had donein the city，” Hersey recalled。 Months had passed since the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima， and still very little had been published on how the atomic bomb had affected its human victims。The “Hiroshima” story revealed much ab Great book！ This is the story of how "The New Yorker" reporter - John Hersey - was able to obtain entry into Hiroshima and interview 6 survivors of the atomic bomb blast。 “Most of the reporting up to that time had to do with the power of the bomb and how much damage it had donein the city，” Hersey recalled。 Months had passed since the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima， and still very little had been published on how the atomic bomb had affected its human victims。The “Hiroshima” story revealed much about the U。S。 government’s internal conflict over how much to showcase about the atomic bomb and how much to hide about it at all costs。 When they filed their Hiroshima reports， Lieutenant Colonel McCrary instructed the field reporters to downplay the grotesque details of what they had seen there， as Americans were “not ready for it back home。”During wartime， rules were setup for the press by the U。S。 government to have their stories submitted for mandatory censorship。 These rules continued after the war。"The greatest tragedy of the twenty-first century may be that we have learned so little from the greatest tragedies of the twentieth century。 Apparently catastrophe lessons need to be experienced firsthand by each generation。 So， here are some refreshers: Nuclear conflict may mean the end of life on this planet。 Mass dehumanization can lead to genocide。 The death of an independent press can lead to tyranny and render a population helpless to protect itself against a government that disdains law and conscience。"A testament to the power of journalism。 。。。more
Scott Emmons
，
I'd never heard of John Hersey or his longform New Yorker article about Hiroshima。 The author paints a picture of Hersey as a reporter/author during and just after WWII。 Blume covers the high points of Hersey's wartime writing （books and movies I'd heard of but had not attributed to Hersey）， leaving Time and his move to the New Yorker。 Hersey and his editors at the New Yorker felt there was a 'story in plain sight' in Japan concerning the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings。 Americans heard a lot ab I'd never heard of John Hersey or his longform New Yorker article about Hiroshima。 The author paints a picture of Hersey as a reporter/author during and just after WWII。 Blume covers the high points of Hersey's wartime writing （books and movies I'd heard of but had not attributed to Hersey）， leaving Time and his move to the New Yorker。 Hersey and his editors at the New Yorker felt there was a 'story in plain sight' in Japan concerning the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings。 Americans heard a lot about the destruction of the city， but nearly nothing about the human toll。 Hersey was able to make his way to Japan， which was then being fully controlled and censored by General MacArthur。 Hersey made his way to Hiroshima， interviewed a handful of survivors whose lives somewhat intertwined the day of and shortly after the bombing， and then wrote the longform article that changed many people's （inside/outside of the U。S。） about nuclear war and it's aftermath。 。。。more
Bill Sleeman
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Author Lesley M。M。 Blume has put together an intriguing history of how John Hershey’ renowned essay （and eventual book） came together。 The work is more a publishing history than a history of a cover-up; and therein lies the shortcoming with this otherwise very interesting book - there really is not much of a cover-up at all。 While the United States government， particularly the Army and the State Department， were indeed limiting access to journalists， Blume never makes a strong case for a cover-u Author Lesley M。M。 Blume has put together an intriguing history of how John Hershey’ renowned essay （and eventual book） came together。 The work is more a publishing history than a history of a cover-up; and therein lies the shortcoming with this otherwise very interesting book - there really is not much of a cover-up at all。 While the United States government， particularly the Army and the State Department， were indeed limiting access to journalists， Blume never makes a strong case for a cover-up。 In her own telling， the events play out more like a slipshod and confused effort to share the facts of the event while at the same time seeming to downplay the facts of the bombing。 How to tell， without telling seems more to be the clumsy MO of the military。 In fact， Hershey’s own visit to the blast site， as the author documents， was actively supported by the military， suggesting perhaps （at a minimum） tacit support for his investigation。 Something never fully explored。 Fallout is a fast read and an interesting story but the background is perhaps not as nefarious as the promotions around the work suggest。 A final comment – in the epilogue Blume veers off to discuss current events and the need to protect the ‘Fourth Estate’ without venturing into what that really means。 This either needed more examination on the author's part or should have been edited out。 As it was presented it seemed like a too hasty effort to be relevant than to explore the deeper implications。 Perhaps she will in a future work。 。。。more
Bayneeta
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Found this history of Hersey's classic Hiroshima very interesting。 Have read his book multiple times， but knew very little about how it came to be， efforts to keep information about the actual results of the bomb from the American public， and brief followups on what happened to the six subjects of Hersey's book in later life。 Audio read by Fred Sanders。 Found this history of Hersey's classic Hiroshima very interesting。 Have read his book multiple times， but knew very little about how it came to be， efforts to keep information about the actual results of the bomb from the American public， and brief followups on what happened to the six subjects of Hersey's book in later life。 Audio read by Fred Sanders。 。。。more
Joanne
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Another nonfiction telling me history I was never taught。 Have to find my copy of John Hersey's Hiroshima。 Our government has kept lots of truth from us - eventually it comes out and who looks the fool？ Another nonfiction telling me history I was never taught。 Have to find my copy of John Hersey's Hiroshima。 Our government has kept lots of truth from us - eventually it comes out and who looks the fool？ 。。。more
Amber Lea
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This is a good companion piece to Hiroshima， but I would have preferred something more concise。 This could have been condensed to 15 pages without losing a whole lot。 I honestly wish Lesley M。M。 Blume could just write an introduction to Hiroshima and they could be published together。
George
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Having just read Malcolm Gladwell's "The Bomber Mafia"， which leads up to the fire bombing of Tokyo in 1945， this seemed like a good follow-up book。 And it was。 Everybody has read "Hiroshima" by John Hersey， and this is the fascinating story behind the story。 As Blume notes， "The opportunity to learn from history’s tragedies has not yet passed。" Having just read Malcolm Gladwell's "The Bomber Mafia"， which leads up to the fire bombing of Tokyo in 1945， this seemed like a good follow-up book。 And it was。 Everybody has read "Hiroshima" by John Hersey， and this is the fascinating story behind the story。 As Blume notes， "The opportunity to learn from history’s tragedies has not yet passed。" 。。。more
Lori
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Imagine writing a book that may have prevented any country from using another atomic bomb or nuclear weapon by describing the effects on civilian victims， especially in the glow of the aftermath of World War 2。 And publishing it in a magazine known for its cartoons。John Hersey was a brave man to enter Hiroshima after the bombing and to humanize the Japanese victims while being attacked by American military leaders who had tried to suppress the devastation。 I was shocked to read that Bull Halsey Imagine writing a book that may have prevented any country from using another atomic bomb or nuclear weapon by describing the effects on civilian victims， especially in the glow of the aftermath of World War 2。 And publishing it in a magazine known for its cartoons。John Hersey was a brave man to enter Hiroshima after the bombing and to humanize the Japanese victims while being attacked by American military leaders who had tried to suppress the devastation。 I was shocked to read that Bull Halsey claimed the Japanese has put out peace feelers months before the bomb was dropped and it was not necessary。 The New Yorker editors were also brave to dedicate an entire issue to a subject readers may not have been open to as the country tried to put the war behind them and move forward。Read this for the last page of the epilogue。 And remember when journalists took great risks to tell the public what we needed to hear。 。。。more
Jake
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