First published 2020
By August 1945, Europe had surrendered but Japan fought on against American forces. The Japanese were losing yet refused to give up. President Harry S. Truman faced an impossible choice. Should he order the use of a terrible new weapon to end the war quickly? Truman decided to drop atomic bombs on two Japanese cities. The first bomb fell on Hiroshima. The second hit Nagasaki. The war ended rapidly after these attacks. Jess Brallier examines why Truman made this decision and what happened next. The book explores the events that led to the bombing and describes the devastating consequences. It also shows how the fear of nuclear weapons has shaped global politics for seventy years. Readers will grapple with difficult questions about this moment in history and consider whether any other choice was possible.
Genres: history, 20th-century, world-war-ii, non-fiction, military-history, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-events
Setting: Hiroshima, Japan, Nagasaki, United States
Period: 1945
112 pages · Paperback · Penguin Workshop
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence, war