Title:  Hiroshima

Recommendation: 8.6/10

Summary:

On August 6th, 1945, a city of 245,000 would soon be reduced to almost half that number. 

With a ratio of 8 doctors to 10,000 patients, it was a harrowing, soul-crushing time in history.

Told through the eyes of six survivors this, almost too, realistic recount gives color, emotion, and impact to what we now refer to as the nuclear holocaust.

To imagine the impact of 20,000 tons of TNT dropped on a city is beyond devastating. Getting to read the first-hand accounts was almost too much for me at times. Yet through it all the Japanese stayed true to their tradition, their sense of honor. While people were being buried alive they yelled “Help, if you please.” Those who were able to give water to the burned did so, who raised themselves to bow giving thanks.

This book humbled and shook my worldview.

Highlights: 

Senator A. Willis Robertson dumbfounded, yet inspired that a man “…whom we tried to kill with an atomic bomb came to the Senate floor to offer thanks to the same God we worship, thank Him for America’s spiritual heritage, and asked God to bless every member of the Senate.”

Disposal of the dead, a greater moral responsibility than adequate care of the living.

As the people dug up some potatoes that were nicely baked underground to feed their families.

The government announced that any embryo in the womb between 1954-55 got free health care and a monthly allowance.

Reflecting on Hiroshima, addressing the cause of the war, and less so the instrument, will be key to growth.

Hibakusha = explosion-affected person.

Photo by Jens Johnsson on Unsplash.