Ground Zero

Hiroshima by John Hersey
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.

Violent, Unbelievable - That's History

Samurai Rising by Pamela Turner
Watertown, MA : Charlesbridge, [2016]
xiii, 236 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm

This book had great reviews in VOYA (and other places, too - like the NYT and SLJ).  I had not yet read it, when student asked if I had anything in history to recommend.  Ah ha! I handed him Samurai Rising, and he brought it back several days later saying it was the best thing he'd read in a while.  There's nothing like a student's glowing review to bump a book up to the top of my "to-read" list.

Things I liked a lot about this book:  It's a history - 1160 to1190 in Japan - that I know almost nothing about.  It's well researched with copious notes.  Finally, it's written to be an adventurous, exciting read.

The book is pretty violent - as were most Samurai battles.  There are lots of scenes of hand-to-hand combat with swords, arrows, daggers and copious amounts of blood and corpses.  Strangely, though the violence does not seem gratuitous, as Sarah Miller notes in the NYT review, "Heads topple, limbs are severed, arrows pierce eyeballs, yet these facts are relayed cleanly and directly."

I also appreciated that the author provides an afterward explaining how she made decisions in recreating  the world of the main hero, Minamoto Yoshitsune, even though much of the historic record is sparse.  It's a great insight for students into thinking historically - and creatively.  Finally, I'd be remiss not to praise the illustrations of Gareth Hinds.  His drawings are bold, skillful, uncluttered and yet convey action, emotion and the stately nature of the story being told (the cover graphic at the top is an excellent example of his art).

I was a little stunned to see one review list this as for readers aged 10 - 14.  That would be a very precocious 10 year old! This book should satisfy any high school reader, and frankly I think a lot of adults (myself included) would enjoy this biography.