Description
Book SynopsisDescribes the wartime circumstances and thinking that form the context for the decision to use the weapons, surveys the major debates related to that decision, and provides a comprehensive collection of key primary source documents that illuminate the behavior of the United States and Japan during the closing days of World War II.
Trade ReviewA rich resource to the complex and often profoundly controversial questions surrounding the bomb of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Reference & Research Book News Lucid and careful summaries of the issues...[a] substantial and well-chosen collection of documents from American and Japanese sources -- Lawrence D. Freedman Foreign Affairs Not only comprehensive but so engaging... This is a book for every library. -- Joe P. Dunn American Reference Books Annual An indispensable book. -- Robert James Maddox Journal of Cold War Studies Innovative. -- Philip Nash H-Diplo By giving the nuclear debate life before the Cold War, Kort revitalizes it for a new complex era. The Columbia Guide to Hiroshima and the Bomb makes a valuable contribution. -- Jay Larson Peace and Change
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part I. Historical Narrative 1. The Debate Over Hiroshima 2. Building the Atomic Bomb 3. The Pacific War 4. The Decision to Drop the Bomb 5. The Japanese Government, Ketsu-Go, and Potsdam 6. Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Japan's Surrender 7. Hiroshima and American Power Part II. Key Questions and Interpretations Part III. Resources Chronology Glossary of Military Terms and Abbreviations Glossary of Names Selected Bibliography Part IV. Documents Guide to the Documents A. American Civilian Documents B. American Military Documents C. MAGIC Diplomatic Summaries D. Japanese Government Documents, Military Documents, and Diary Entries E. Japanese Surrender Documents F. United States Strategic Bombing Survey: Summary Report and Interrogations of Japanese Officials G. Statements of Japanese Officials on World War II, Military Intelligence Section, Historical Division, U.S. Army Notes Index
