Hiroshima

Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb

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By Ronald Takaki

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$19.99

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$25.99 CAD

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  1. Trade Paperback $19.99 $25.99 CAD
  2. Hardcover $33.00 $42.00 CAD

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The bombing of Hiroshima was one of the pivotal events of the twentieth century, yet this controversial question remains unresolved. At the time, General Dwight Eisenhower, General Douglas MacArthur, and chief of staff Admiral William Leahy all agreed that an atomic attack on Japanese cities was unnecessary. All of them believed that Japan had already been beaten and that the war would soon end. Was the bomb dropped to end the war more quickly? Or did it herald the start of the Cold War? In his probing new study, prizewinning historian Ronald Takaki explores these factors and more. He considers the cultural context of race – the ways in which stereotypes of the Japanese influenced public opinion and policymakers – and also probes the human dimension. Relying on top secret military reports, diaries, and personal letters, Takaki relates international policies to the individuals involved: Los Alamos director J. Robert Oppenheimer, Secretary of State James Byrnes, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, and others… but above all, Harry Truman.

Genre:

On Sale
Sep 1, 1996
Page Count
208 pages
Publisher
Back Bay Books
ISBN-13
9780316831246

Ronald Takaki

About the Author

Ronald Takaki (1939-2009) established the Ethnic Studies Ph.D. program at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught for thirty years. He was the author of six books, including Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans and Double Victory: A Multicultural History of America in World War II.

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