New York : Vintage Books, 1989, c1985.
152 p. ; 18 cm.
I had the good fortune of going to Japan this summer, part of the motivation was knowing a couple from the US who are running the World Friendship Center in Hiroshima. They suggested reading Hersey's book - which is available online for free at the New Yorker where it was first published in 1946.
I had read the book long ago and was impressed with what a powerful and important book it is. It tells the story of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by weaving together the stories of survivors who Hersey interviewed shortly after the bombing. It is a terrifying retelling of the savage effects of the US bomb and on the strange and random ways that decided who survived and who did not.
Though it was written over seventy years ago, it has immediacy still. For anyone interested in discovering what it was like to be in the Hiroshima bombing, this remains a powerful testament.
