Hiroshima

Rating:
Summary: jus-another-book
Review: In my opinion,Hiroshima was not really a good book becoz mainly the setting out of the book was too confusing for the reader.I know the writer trying to create an atmoshpere of what's happening but i find it too difficult to remember what had happen to the last character i've read.Also it was pretty much predictable and i find it hard to understand some of the words the writer use.

Rating:
Summary: Hiroshima in Context
Review: Hiroshima was published in 1946 - a year after the bomb was dropped - in New Yorker magazine. Uniquely in its history, the magazine devoted its entire issue to Hersey's 30,000 word essay. Only later was it turned into a book; the final chapter on the subsequent lives of the six subjects wasn't written until 1985.

Hersey set out to put a human face on the consquences of the atomic bomb. All earlier news accounts, articles and stories had been focused on the statistics, the science, and the effort that led to the nuclear weapon. Understood in that context, understanding what Hersey was trying to do and say, the book is even more remarkable.

It is not a novel; a novel is a work of fiction. It is an essay, a work of reportage. This story is true. The book is all the more remarkable because Hersey was born and raised in China, the son of missionaries, and had no reason to be sympathetic to or about the Japanese. A war correspondent for Time, he earned a commendation from the U.S. Army at Guadacanal. He cannot fairly be accused of anything but supreme objectivity. By telling the true stories of six survivors in an absolutely straightforward way, without judging the decision to use the bomb, he put an intensely human face on the consequences.

He was criticized at the time and is criticized today for taking the events that day out of context. The bomb is supposed to have saved a million American casualties (a highly suspect figure today). It was supposed to have shortened the war by a year or more. Those critics are themselves missing the true context. At the time, the historical events leading to Truman's decision were well known (although recast in February 1947 by Stinson). Hersey's goal was to make the story real in a new way. Those facts are well and good, Hersey is saying, but there were bad consequences as well. In the process, he created a remarkable book.

I was glad to see New York University recently named Hersey's Hiroshima as the best single work of reporting in the 20th century. As events unfold in the escalating nuclear arms race on the Indian subcontinent, everyone needs to understand the human consequences of the use of nuclear weapons. By helping keep Hersey's work before us, perhaps we can avoid another Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

Rating:
Summary: ZZZZZZZZZ
Review: This book put me to sleep everytime I read it. I am sorry but this book had no climax or anything that would reach out and grip you. I would not recommened it.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic!
Review: No matter what your views of the atomic bomb are. Whether you think Japan deserved the bomb, or Truman did it to save lives and end the war, or that the bomb was really nuclear diplomacy: you should still read this book. A tiny little book that shows the human effects of the bomb. Well written, short and to the point. This is a must read. Anyone who is interested in WWII and the bomb needs to read this book. I thank my US History since 1945 Professor, Dr. Crawly for assigning us this book.

Rating:
Summary: Exploding, a "Page Turner"
Review: Hiroshima, a novel by John Hersey takes the reader back to 1945 when the first atomic bomb was dropped. John Hersey takes the stories of six survivors of Hiroshima. In this short novel John Hersey describes what happened to these six survivors when the bomb exploded and what happened to them 40 years later. Switching from character to character with suspense hanging from every page I think that I would call this book a "Page Turner." I think that it was an excellent book because of how the author makes the book both interesting and full of facts. The book not only takes you back to the day of the bombing but at the same time it helps you learn the truth and pain of Hiroshima's survivors. The book gives you a lot of facts from Hiroshima as well. Hiroshima takes you into the lives of these 6 lucky people. Throughout the book you experience the pain of these people (not as much of course). Even though the book is very descriptive and at some times very graphic I give it 5 stars. I recommend this book to everyone who has questions about what happened to people at Hiroshima.

Rating:
Summary: Hiroshima
Review: Hiroshima is a very fascinating book written by John Hersey. It is basically a compilation of a variety of stories told by 6 of the survivors or "hikubusha" of the Atomic Bomb dropped on the Japanese city on August 6, 1945.

The whole book is written in a very sadistic tone, where many of the character's stories are told on how the each received the initial impact and how they experienced the weeks after the detonation. It also includes many occasions where some of the characters interact with each other, adding to the "plot" of the book.

Although the book has no technical "ending" or "climax", it does contain many deep themes related to the war, such as the reasons the Americans had for using the most devastating attack in the history of warfare.

Rating:
Summary: NOt good at all mrs. b
Review: we had to read this for La talk about torture! It had to many point of views! BBAADD

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: I was required to read this book over a month for school, but I couldn't put it down and finished it in two days! I think that the way he writes the characters binds you to them, so that you know them more closely as you read about them, and it's hypnotizing. I hope to read more about Hiroshima and John Hersey in the future!

Rating:
Summary: A Great Account of a Tragedy
Review: This novel gives you more than just the facts of the Hiroshima bombing. It gives you insight into the personal, long-term effects of the bombing on individual people. It makes the tragedy seem less historic and more personal.

Rating:
Summary: The depiction of the dropping of the bomb is unmatched.
Review: John Hersey's Hiroshima vividly describes the dropping of the bomb from a survivor's perspective. His description of the survivors is amazing. You can really commiserate with the people in the book because of his in depth and complex writing. The most memorable thing in Hiroshima is Dr. Fuji's determination to save as many people as he can. I gave this book three stars because although it did catch my attention, it did not hold it throughout the entire book.