Hiroshima in America

Front Cover
HarperCollins, 1996 - History - 427 pages
The use of nuclear weapons on civilian populations has weighed heavily on our national conscience - with profound effects, argue Robert Jay Lifton and Greg Mitchell. They have written the first book that assesses the political, ethical, and psychological impact of Hiroshima on our nation. The book opens on August 6, 1945, the day of the bombing of Hiroshima, with the official statement by President Harry S. Truman, which began our government's extensive distortion of information and management of the news media. The story comes to a climax nearly fifty years later, with an inside view of the recent debacle at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., when a wave of opposition forced the museum to cancel a full exhibit about the atomic bombing and its human effects. Throughout Hiroshima in America, the authors offer a powerful and thought-provoking analysis of what we have lost by our unwillingness to face the truth about Hiroshima. They also present a landmark portrait of Harry Truman and an exploration of the factors that led him to authorize using the bomb, and defend that act for the rest of his life.

About the author (1996)

Robert Jay Lifton's books include The Nazi Doctors, Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima (winner of a National Book Award), and Destroying the World to Save It. He is the director of the Center on Violence and Human Survival at John Jay College and also teaches at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Greg Mitchell is the author of several acclaimed political books, including Tricky Dick and the Pink Lady and The Campaign of the Century, as well as a memoir, Joy in Mudville. He currently serves as features editor of Editor & Publisher magazine.