Hiroshima
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-28 06:59:00
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：John Hersey
- ISBN：0593082362
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Summary
Hiroshima is the story of six people--a clerk， a widowed seamstress， a physician， a Methodist minister， a young surgeon， and a German Catholic priest--who lived through the greatest single manmade disaster in history。 In vivid and indelible prose， Pulitzer Prize-winner John Hersey traces the stories of these half-dozen individuals from 8:15 a。m。 on August 6， 1945， when Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atomic bomb ever dropped on a city， through the hours and days that followed。 Almost four decades after the original publication of this celebrated book， Hersey went back to Hiroshima in search of the people whose stories he had told， and his account of what he discovered is now the eloquent and moving final chapter of Hiroshima。
Reviews
Lori
，
This book follows personal experiences of Hiroshima victims。 Important read now since Russia is threatening nuclear war。
Linda
，
A small book with a big punch， it shadows six individuals living in the city， beginning at the exact moment on 6 August 1945 when the bomb fell on Hiroshima。 Originally published in 1946， the 1985 edition’s aftermath includes events as late as 1984。 Other than personal experience， Hiroshima， like the much later （2019） TV miniseries Chernobyl， helps us to understand the effects of unleashed nuclear power on humans and nations。Hiroshima is one of the best， and first， nonfiction stories written usi A small book with a big punch， it shadows six individuals living in the city， beginning at the exact moment on 6 August 1945 when the bomb fell on Hiroshima。 Originally published in 1946， the 1985 edition’s aftermath includes events as late as 1984。 Other than personal experience， Hiroshima， like the much later （2019） TV miniseries Chernobyl， helps us to understand the effects of unleashed nuclear power on humans and nations。Hiroshima is one of the best， and first， nonfiction stories written using fiction techniques。 In fact， I had to search the internet to learn if the book was fiction or nonfiction。Hersey’s excellent writing is invisible to the reader and does not intrude on the story， which is a high compliments to any author。 。。。more
Megan
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not interesting
Cameron
，
this book was pretty good
Georgia Herbert
，
One of my favorite books
Abby Whitlock
，
This book is haunting and heavy。 I know this was a required read for me in high school but I remember exactly zero of it-which means I probably spark noted the papers which is a real shame。 The people and their stories are gut wrenching and reading it has affected me more than I thought。 If you haven't read it-do it now。 This book is haunting and heavy。 I know this was a required read for me in high school but I remember exactly zero of it-which means I probably spark noted the papers which is a real shame。 The people and their stories are gut wrenching and reading it has affected me more than I thought。 If you haven't read it-do it now。 。。。more
Luísa （tolkientoyou）
，
3。5。O livro é bom， mas pareceu-me muito pequeno e gostaria que o autor se focasse noutras coisas。 Li com o audiobook porque me dava mais jeito no dia a dia， mas não gostei muito do narrador， achei-o um pouco frio。
Myhte
，
Over everything up through the wreckage of the city， in gutters， along the river banks， tangled among tiles and tin roofing， climbing on charred tree trunks was a blanket of fresh， vivid， lush， optimistic green; the verdancy rose even from the foundations of ruined houses。
Bman
，
Heartbreaking but oddly life affirming at the same time， Hiroshima gives the POV of six people who somehow survived that day and how it affect their lives going froward。 Totally engrossing and very well written， it's not a fun read but it's worth it。 Heartbreaking but oddly life affirming at the same time， Hiroshima gives the POV of six people who somehow survived that day and how it affect their lives going froward。 Totally engrossing and very well written， it's not a fun read but it's worth it。 。。。more
Florence
，
Those who survived the August 6， 1945 bombing of Hiroshima remembered a brilliant flash of light。 The entire city seemed to be on fire。 The few people who were alive and able to walk gathered at a city park and on the banks of a river。 Soon fire overtook both sanctuaries。 The scene was a hellish vision of carnage and suffering。 John Hersey's book focuses on six survivors; ordinary people overcome by monstrous events。 The narrative is factual， even unemotional， but horror of the facts leaps out o Those who survived the August 6， 1945 bombing of Hiroshima remembered a brilliant flash of light。 The entire city seemed to be on fire。 The few people who were alive and able to walk gathered at a city park and on the banks of a river。 Soon fire overtook both sanctuaries。 The scene was a hellish vision of carnage and suffering。 John Hersey's book focuses on six survivors; ordinary people overcome by monstrous events。 The narrative is factual， even unemotional， but horror of the facts leaps out of the pages。 At this moment in world history we may be tempted to disregard the annihilating power of nuclear weapons。 When speaking of war the phrase "never again" seems to have lost its potency。 We are seeing destruction of entire cities in Ukraine and， the murder of civilians， and the possibility of nuclear war has become imaginable again。 World leaders with proximity to weapons of mass destruction must remember Hiroshima。 I am not hopeful。 。。。more
Del
，
This a truly exceptional book， it challenges all that America was fed after the dropping of the atomic bombs and shows the stories of civilians whose lives were forever changed by the bomb。
Kelly Paradis
，
A must read and especially right now with the threat of nuclear war。
HUD
，
I was going to rate this 4* because it’s short and kind of blunt， kind of drab…but then I reconsidered: for those exact same reasons I am giving it 5*。 This was a tragedy of epic proportions that doesn’t need a sprawling page count and flowery language to make its point， but it is a tale that needs to be told。 And heard。 And understood。 It’s a no-bullshit， straight to the point， “really reflect on how shitty humans have been — and continue to be — to each other” expression of history that， if we I was going to rate this 4* because it’s short and kind of blunt， kind of drab…but then I reconsidered: for those exact same reasons I am giving it 5*。 This was a tragedy of epic proportions that doesn’t need a sprawling page count and flowery language to make its point， but it is a tale that needs to be told。 And heard。 And understood。 It’s a no-bullshit， straight to the point， “really reflect on how shitty humans have been — and continue to be — to each other” expression of history that， if we don’t learn from it， we’ll be doomed to repeat it。 It is both one of the easiest and hardest reads。 Nevertheless， read it。 。。。more
Aisha Alrawi
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Horrifying and haunting。 May all those who suffered the horrid effects of wars find their peace。
Vincent
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 At 8h15 on August 6th in Hiroshima， the first A-bomb was dropped and in those few seconds， it killed 75 000 people。 The story follows 6 survivors of Hiroshima from the moments before the bomb fell， all the way to the nuclear threats of the cold war。 Although we will never understand what those people went through we can somewhat imagine the horror they lived while reading this book。 The first two chapters follow the 6 survivors on the first day of the explosion as they fled Hiroshima in flames w At 8h15 on August 6th in Hiroshima， the first A-bomb was dropped and in those few seconds， it killed 75 000 people。 The story follows 6 survivors of Hiroshima from the moments before the bomb fell， all the way to the nuclear threats of the cold war。 Although we will never understand what those people went through we can somewhat imagine the horror they lived while reading this book。 The first two chapters follow the 6 survivors on the first day of the explosion as they fled Hiroshima in flames while leaving many to die trapped in the ruins。 The horror of radiation sickness begins in the next chapter ''Details are Being Investigated'' as the days go by as many fall to horrible diseases。 The tales of those lives stand as a reminder that atomic weapons should never be used again as they leave a deep scar on the populations affected by them。 。。。more
Collin Haese
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A great reminder of the human cost of war。 The reporting brings to focus the true horror of the use of nuclear weapons。
Alice Taylor
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"In the act of survival he lived a dozen lives and saw more death than he ever thought he would see。" "In the act of survival he lived a dozen lives and saw more death than he ever thought he would see。" 。。。more
Pat Edwards
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A simple short book that everyone needs to read。 Tells the Stories of some ordinary Hiroshima survivors， their lives immediately after and through the decades following。 Antiwar documentation at its most powerful。
Dave Schafer
，
Interesting but not riveting。。。
Finn
，
;（
Patricia
，
This book is written from the perspectives of people who experienced the bombing of Hiroshima starting the day of and forty years afterwards。
Lucas
，
The book Hiroshima by John Hersey is about the bombing of Hiroshima in ww2 this book was recommended to me by my teacher for a nonfiction book for class 。 In the start they discussed what some survivors point of view and story the day before and the day of the bombing 。 And were they were at and how it helped them survive the bombing 。They discussed how the bombing injered them and what it did to them 。 They told what they sounded like what the plains sounded like 。 I liked how it ended it to The book Hiroshima by John Hersey is about the bombing of Hiroshima in ww2 this book was recommended to me by my teacher for a nonfiction book for class 。 In the start they discussed what some survivors point of view and story the day before and the day of the bombing 。 And were they were at and how it helped them survive the bombing 。They discussed how the bombing injered them and what it did to them 。 They told what they sounded like what the plains sounded like 。 I liked how it ended it tought me stuff about the bombing i didnt know 。 my favorite part was the beginning cause it makes you think what can happen at any time and how some people actions can affect others 。 I had fun reading this book i would totally recommend it to anyone who like history 。and a other book people might like is making bombs for Hitler its also has to do with ww2 。 people who like history would like both of these books 。 。。。more
Darren
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A haunting book， told the stories of the survivors with great detail， almost to the point where you could picture yourself in Hiroshima on August 6th， 1945， and the days after。 The last chapter， which revisited the survivors in their lives after the bomb， was a great wrap up to the book。
Jean
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This is a story about an absolutely horrific event in American and certainly Japanese history。 The horror， somehow， is brought home through the dispassionate， absolutely objective way the story is told。 Perhaps this is the only way the author--and the reader--could get through the telling。Another powerful technique is to tell it as it happened to five people who survived even though they were very close to ground zero。 As the reader， you know that a bomb had been dropped--but the people don't。 A This is a story about an absolutely horrific event in American and certainly Japanese history。 The horror， somehow， is brought home through the dispassionate， absolutely objective way the story is told。 Perhaps this is the only way the author--and the reader--could get through the telling。Another powerful technique is to tell it as it happened to five people who survived even though they were very close to ground zero。 As the reader， you know that a bomb had been dropped--but the people don't。 And they don't know exactly what happened for some time。 They only begin to realize how serious this was when the emperor himself speaks to the population on the radio for the first time ever。At last， they perhaps realize they suffer in many ways from the effects of radiation poisoning。 Yet they soldier on， rebuilding their lives， taking care of their families。 Many visit the place where the bomb dropped， trying to comprehend the destruction and the fallout。 Though they suffer terribly， most live to an old age。It is not an easy book to read。 But it is well-written， and it's one of those stories that is necessary to know。 。。。more
Sorina Negrilă
，
What better time to read a shelved book about the first atomic bomb used in a war than。。。。 when yet another war broke on the continent and led to an increase in nuclear alertness。 Without wanting to sound sarcastic， I think it would have been a tremendously shocking read in the 40s when it was originally published， but our televized war-culture， the Telegram video streams， the heart-and-mind bending photographs we have access to almost instantly has desensitized me as a reader to the shock of de What better time to read a shelved book about the first atomic bomb used in a war than。。。。 when yet another war broke on the continent and led to an increase in nuclear alertness。 Without wanting to sound sarcastic， I think it would have been a tremendously shocking read in the 40s when it was originally published， but our televized war-culture， the Telegram video streams， the heart-and-mind bending photographs we have access to almost instantly has desensitized me as a reader to the shock of descriptive human suffering， even at such a scale。 The book starts with describing the start of the infamous day in August for 6 different persons and then follows their reaction to the bomb， their actions in the first hours， days and weeks after the tragedy at an unprecedented scale。 And 40 years later， it adds for each of them the expected follow-up。I was probably more in search of psychological depictions of survivors， meaning-making mechanisms for the survivors and their evolution in time， how this trauma was then integrated into the lives of the frailed， the healthy and the distant American public。 To these， I found no answers in the book， so I guess time since publication does matter in the way a book lands in someone's mind。 。。。more
Matthew Ted
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34th book of 2022。In high school we studied Book I of Keiji Nakazawa's graphic novel series Barefoot Gen， based partly on his own experiences as a Hiroshima survivor。 I was about 14 years old， the quiet kid， avoided detentions and raising his hand。 After studying the first volume， I went on throughout the next year or two reading the subsequent 9。 The atomic bomb falling on Hiroshima has since floated about in the back of my psyche， something that I presumed would always haunt and interest me wi 34th book of 2022。In high school we studied Book I of Keiji Nakazawa's graphic novel series Barefoot Gen， based partly on his own experiences as a Hiroshima survivor。 I was about 14 years old， the quiet kid， avoided detentions and raising his hand。 After studying the first volume， I went on throughout the next year or two reading the subsequent 9。 The atomic bomb falling on Hiroshima has since floated about in the back of my psyche， something that I presumed would always haunt and interest me with similar power。 Some of the panels from Barefoot Gen I can still recall with almost perfect clarity。 We had to read the book aloud in class each week， every time someone was allocated a certain character。 On the week we finally got to the dropping of the bomb itself in the narrative， I had been allocated as the voice of Gen's little brother。 I'll put in panels from the series throughout the review to illustrate it; I'll say now that there are many haunting panels， I'll avoid the worst of them。 Hersey was sent to Hiroshima just 9 months after the atomic bomb was dropped。 I've known about this book for years and never had chance to read it， despite my affinity with the event。 I finally found it in Badger's， my trusty old bookshop， and bought it。 It set me back £2。95， which was expensive considering it is an old Penguin edition， that appeared to be coming apart。 Indeed， with each page I turned， it snapped from the brittle glue of the spine and fell away as if as I was reading it was exercising some Márquezian self-obliteration。 By about 80 pages in I let the pages come completely away from the cover and just shuffled them around like a pack of cards as I read the rest。Anyway， I always presumed the book would be about what Hersey saw when he explored post-atomic Hiroshima。 It turns out that isn't the case: Hersey has actually written a narrative piece following six survivors， survivors he presumably met and gathered information from firsthand。 It's really like reading a short story about these 6 characters， pre-bomb， mid-bomb and post-bomb。 One of the scariest persisting images of the book is the silence of it。 No survivors， according to Hersey， reported hearing any sound at all from the bomb， only the flash。 And later on， when one 'character' （real person now immortalised as a 'character'） stumbles through a sea of dead， dying， burnt， injured people， their silence: no one screamed in pain or cried out。 Many parts of it reminded me of Pynchon's descriptions of the V-2 rockets in Gravity's Rainbow。 There's one line in here which isn't too dissimilar from Tommy P's opener， 'A screaming comes across the sky。' One idea that has never left me from Barefoot Gen is the fact that the shadows of people were scorched into the ground。 I didn't know if this was scientifically possible at 14 and frankly， I still don't。 But then I read it again in Hersey and realise it must be true， The scientists noticed that the flash of the bomb had discoloured concrete to a light reddish tint， had scaled off the surface of granite， and had scorched certain other types of building material， and that consequently the bomb had， in some places， left prints of the shadows that had been cast by its light [。。。] （a few vague human silhouettes were found。。。 Once again the threat of nuclear war is a topic of conversation。 It just goes to show that Hersey's reportage of this event all those years ago is still a wailing warning in the form of just 100 pages。 at times a difficult read， the descriptions of burns， glass， bodies， babies dying with their mouths clogged with dirt， people drowning because they are so weak they can't move， the slow arrival of radiation poisoning in the bodies of the survivors and the six poor souls we follow closely through Hersey's close camera-eye， which is detached but without coldness somehow。 He is an early practitioner of new-journalism and I see his influence in Capote's later work。 Vital stuff。 Recommend this and Barefoot Gen equally。 I've never heard the latter mentioned by anyone else since reading it in school。 And glad I finally read this even though my copy has destroyed itself in a strange form of art in motion。 One of the closing paragraphs reverberates off the page， As for the use of the bomb she would say， 'It was war and we had to expect it。' And then she would add， 'Shikata ga nai，' a Japanese expression as common as， and corresponding to， the Russian word， 'nichevo': 'It can't be helped。 Oh， well。 Too bad。' Dr Fujii said approximately the same thing about the use of the bomb to Father Kleinsorge one evening， in German。 'Da ist nichts zu machen。 There's nothing to be done about it。' 。。。more
Lindsay
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I love this book but it makes me feel sad and like crying。 It feels like I am watching all these poor people's horrific suffering in this book because "Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped on the city。" More than 100，000 men， women and children lost their lives with countless more seriously burned， injured， and mentally scarred for life。 This is the most powerful book I have ever read。 I would love to recommend this book to my classmates and my siblings too。 Try to control I love this book but it makes me feel sad and like crying。 It feels like I am watching all these poor people's horrific suffering in this book because "Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped on the city。" More than 100，000 men， women and children lost their lives with countless more seriously burned， injured， and mentally scarred for life。 This is the most powerful book I have ever read。 I would love to recommend this book to my classmates and my siblings too。 Try to control your crying！ Again， it makes me sad！ 。。。more
Chosei Tako Quiroz
，
[Se lo recomiendo…] Desgarrador relato de seis supervivientes de la bomba atómica en Hiroshima。 Me sorprendió el nivel de detalle y la forma de contarse， dividiendo en etapas el acontecimiento y narrando cómo lo vivió cada uno de los seis。Me alegra que hayan regalado un libro clásico del periodismo。 Tanto me recomendaron， que ahora quedo agradecido por tener una idea mejor y， sobre todo， mayor interés en dicho evento。
Dolores Negrete
，
A must read。 A horrifying historical event that should never be forgotten。
Felipe
，
Corto。 Claro。 Diferentes visiones de un mismo horror。 La esencia del ser humano y su rápido olvidó 。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Hiroshima
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Hiroshima&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Hiroshima&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0