A Critical Review Of John Hersey's Hiroshima

Name: Course Instructor: Class: Date: Critical Book Review: Prompt and Utter Destruction Introduction Within weeks, word on the US dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki began to spread that the main reason behind the bombs was to save the lives of Americans (Bernard). It was put that hundreds of thousands of American military causalities were saved through the bombings.

This book reflects the author’s wish of not only remembering what has happened to the Japanese families living in the United States of America at the time of war but also to show its effects and how families made through that storm of problems and insecurities. The story takes in the first turn when the father of Jeanne gets arrested in the accusation of supplying fuel to Japanese parties and takes it last turn when after the passage of several years, Jeanne (writer) is living a contented life with her family and ponders over her past (Wakatsuki Houston and D. Houston 3-78). As we read along the pages

Eyewitness accounts are generally able to convince readers and this book is able to convince readers about its objective through some sincere retelling of events. One feels that one is accompanying Jeanne on her personal journey and that is the strength of the book. The authors not only recount facts and events but take the readers along with them on a journey where they search, examine and understand the truth behind their experiences. Jeanne shares her experience of being a Japanese American during the war and the impact it had on her without any bitterness or self-pity. It is extremely readable as it avoids being academic and relies more on personal experiences.

Hundreds of thousands died, almost half of the population of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The effects were devastating for the slowly dying, and family and friends of the dead. In document “Effects of Atomic Attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki” it shows a burned corpse and miserable doctors. But all would agree that the American government announced the Potsdam Declaration and warned Japan that “prompt and utter destruction” would follow the refusal of surrender. The US also dropped leaflets around the city telling citizens that “So, in accordance with America's humanitarian policies, the American Air Force, which does not wish to injure innocent people, now gives you warning to evacuate the cities named and save your lives.”

Finally, the World War two can be termed as the darkest and evil period in the history of man. However, this book, “Unbroken” has briefly explained the events that led to this war, the destruction of Nagasaki and Hiroshima by the atomic bomb (Hillenbrand 33). It also comprises a quote from the Prisoner of war who thinks that in most cases, “the end always justifies the means”, similarly to what happened in the WWII.

Mary Matsuda Gruenewald tells her tale of what life was like for her family when they were sent to internment camps in her memoir “Looking like the Enemy.” The book starts when Gruenewald is sixteen years old and her family just got news that Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japan. After the bombing Gruenewald and her family life changed, they were forced to leave their home and go to internment camps meant for Japanese Americans. During the time Gruenewald was in imprisonment she dealt with the struggle for survival both physical and mental. This affected Gruenewald great that she would say to herself “Am I Japanese?

the bomb’s code name was “Little Boy”. Three days later, on August 9th, 1945, America dropped another bomb on Nagasaki with the code name “Fat Man”. As many as 200,000 deaths were caused by “Little Boy” alone and many people would die of radiation for years to come. The dropping of the Atom bomb on Hiroshima is an extremely debatable issue with no right or wrong answer. In this essay I will describe both sides to the argument then conclude using my final opinion on whether I am for or against the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima.

Imagine living in a period in which the realities of war encased the world, and the lethal potential to end all suffering was up to a single being. During World War II, tensions between Japan and the United States increased. Despite pleas from US President, Harry Truman, for Japan to surrender, the Japanese were intent on continuing the fight. As a result, Truman ordered the atomic bomb, a deadly revolution in nuclear science, to be dropped on the towns of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. President Harry Truman, in his speech, “Announcement of the Dropping of the Atomic Bomb,” supports his claim that the dropping of the A-bomb shortened the war, saved lives, and got revenge by appealing to American anger by mentioning traumatic historical events and

On the tragic day of August 6, 1945, US Air Force deployed the first atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A few days later, the second atomic bomb devastated the city of Nagasaki. These bombs were thought to end the war between Japan and America before other countries could get involved. To this day, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still a source of pain and shame for those afflicted and for those who survived. In the poem, “Hiroshima Exit” by Canadian Writer Joy Kogawa presents a flash back of these events that occurred during World War II.

1. Immediate Aftermath On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m., an atomic bomb by the name of “Little Boy” detonated 1,900 feet above the city of Hiroshima. The bomb exploded directly above the Shima Surgical Clinic with the force of about 16 kilotons of TNT, causing the burst temperature to exceed 1 million degrees Celsius and creating a massive fireball measuring 840 feet in diameter. The explosion killed an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 and injured a similar number.

Thesis statement: Though many speculate that the act of dropping the atomic bomb on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) while not doing so on Europe (Germany and Italy) was racially motivated, racism played little to no role in these bombings. The United States of America and her allies were willing to end World War II at any cost, had the atomic bombs been available they would have been deployed in Europe. In the 1940’s there is no doubt that the United States of America was engulfed by mass anti-Japanese hysteria which inevitably bled over into America’s foreign policy. During this period Japanese people living in both Japan and the United States of America were seen as less that human.

On August 6th 1945, the US dropped the largest bomb the world had ever seen on the city of Hiroshima. The bomb caused massive destruction and led to the death of over 100,000 Japanese people. After the war, Japan was forced into a period of reconstruction after it’s two largest cities were bombed and left in ruble. Over 40 years later an author, Mary Jo Salter’s writes of a visit to Hiroshima in which the speaker observes both the present recovery of the city and the devastation of the past. In her poem, “Welcome To Hiroshima”, Mary Jo Salter uses various literary elements, such as imagery, allusion, and diction to show that everything can recover even after the most disastrous events, yet you can never forget the damage without risking

Its August sixth, 1945. Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay, drops the bomb named ¨Little Boy¨ on Hiroshima. The citizens of Japan had never expected something as extensive as a bomb. The japanese were nowhere near aware of what was going to happen that day, and they had no idea of how much pain and suffering it would inflict. Three days later Charles Sweeney flew in the Enola Gay to Nagasaki, where the bomb ¨Fat Man¨ was dropped.

Matsuda’s memoir is based off of her and her family’s experiences in the Japanese-American internment camps. Matsuda reveals what it is like during World War II as a Japanese American, undergoing family life, emotional stress, long term effects of interment, and her patriotism and the sacrifices she had to make being in the internment camps. Everyone living in Western section of the United States; California, Oregon, of Japanese descent were moved to internment camps after the Pearl Harbor bombing including seventeen year old Mary Matsuda Gruenewald and her family. Matsuda and her family had barely any time to pack their bags to stay at the camps. Matsuda and her family faced certain challenges living in the internment camp.

The dropping of the atomic bombs on World War II on the city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a very important part of World War II. The atomic bomb ended the war between America and Japan. This was just one of the important events during the battle in World War II. The Battle at Pearl Harbor, where the Japanese attacked U.S. soil was also why the americans bombed Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Some believe that the United States was correct in dropping these bombs on Japan because of the attack on Pearl Harbor while others believe that it was very wrong to dropped the bomb.