Hiroshima in America

A very good book and unique in its introspective nature. As I read the book, I realized that the present 'culture of mass denial' in the U.S. possibly originated some 60+ year ago. Will be interesting to see if some of the same philosophy presented here, also exists in Woodward's book 'Denial'.

This book is the best information I have seen on this tragic event. Read it, understand what we did.

This book will change how you've viewed the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. We've been lulled into the belief that it ended the war and "saved lives." But have our history books been truly honest in that simplistic regard to the act? This book urges you to look deeper into the issue, if you are serious about TRULY understanding the decision to use the bombs.Lifton gives an incredibly thorough profile of the events and characters involved in the decision to start nuclear war. From political to psychological reasons, the characters are dealt with on a human level. It's a frightening tale, much more complex than the propoganda that was issued prior and following the nuke's use. Many will not like what is documented, because it reaches beyond the simplistic explanations, but sometimes truth is painful, especiallly when it may challenge what we believed are our true values. This is a must read for all who believe nukes are a legitimate choice in war. Lifton will surprise you, and make you very intimate with Harry Truman and his thought processes going into the final months of the war, the pressures he was under, both from his own cabinet, the military, and the public. We can only make choices based on the information made available to us. This book is unique in its presentation, and deserves full attention in our history courses and for those who seriously study the impact of our World Wars. It's not a literary guilt trip for the nation. It presents and profiles the hard truths, and no doubt took serious guts to publish.Not many books can change your beliefs, but this one can, or at least legitimately challenged what you thought were established views.

Using sources made available only recently, Lifton and Mitchell examine the US government's efforts to mold public opinion following the detonation of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs.These included squelching reports of radiation injuries, preventing release of ground-level damage reports, discouraging discussion of alternatives to the bombing, playing up the "military necessity" of what was (at best) only partially a military decision, and placing all of the scientists and their papers under a shroud of "Top Secrecy" to prevent non-military viewpoints from being discussed or published.Like Gar Alperovitz (and drawing heavily on his work), Lifton and Mitchell present revealing portraits of the main characters involved in this turning point in history, and make a compelling case that their motives were not always as pure as we've been led to believe.A cautionary tale of the seduction of power.

HIROSHIMA IN AMERICA: FIFTY YEARS OF DENIAL is required reading for a class I am presently taking on Hiroshima, but it should be required reading for everyone in America. I found the book to be both interesting and intriguing. The authors, Lifton and Mitchell, give a very detailed account of how the Americans treated and responded to the dropping of the A-bomb and its effects on the Japanese people living there. HIROSHIMA also offers insight into the political action and reaction of the bombing with unbelievable documentation and research from the War Department and the White House. For those in America who may wonder about the events surrounding the bomb, HIROSHIMA IN AMERICA offers one of the best sources of information by far!