First published 2010
Charles Pellegrino reconstructs the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through survivor testimonies and forensic archaeology. His account centers on eyewitness experiences from August 1945, including Japanese civilians and American aircrews. The narrative focuses particularly on thirty individuals who fled Hiroshima only to encounter the second bombing in Nagasaki. Among them stands Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the sole person to experience both nuclear explosions at ground zero. During the Nagasaki blast, Yamaguchi found himself in a stairwell that created a protective shock cocoon as the building vanished around him. Pellegrino combines these personal stories with scientific analysis to challenge official accounts of the bombings. The book draws from interviews with atomic bomb survivors and applies archaeological methods to understand the physical effects of nuclear weapons. Through detailed reconstruction of these two pivotal days, Pellegrino examines how nuclear warfare changed human history and offers readers direct access to firsthand accounts of nuclear catastrophe.
Genres: history, 20th-century, non-fiction, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: eyewitness-accounts, first-hand-experience
Setting: Hiroshima, Nagasaki
Period: 1945
384 pages · Hardcover · Henry Holt and Co.
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence, war