John Hersey

When the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945, killing 100,000 men, women and children, it was the beginning of a terrifying new episode in human history. Written only a year after the disaster, John Hersey brought the event vividly alive with his heartrending account of six men and women who survived despite all the odds. He added a further chapter when, forty years later, he returned to Hiroshima to discover how the same six people had struggled to cope with catastrophe and with often crippling disease. The result is a devastating picture of the long-term effects of one very small bomb.

Hiroshima

On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped on a city. This book, John Hersey's journalistic masterpiece, tells what happened on that day. Told through the memories of survivors, this timeless, powerful and compassionate document has become a classic "that stirs the conscience of humanity" (The New York Times). Almost four decades after the original publication of this celebrated book, John Hersey went back to Hiroshima in search of the people whose stories he had told.  His account of what he discovered about them is now the eloquent and moving final chapter of Hiroshima.

Andrew Reeves

Don’t know why it took me so long. Unforgettable.

Andrew John Kinney

John Hersey's matter-of-fact account of the stories of several Hiroshima survivors, as well as those of many who did not survive, is as powerful today as when he wrote it 75 years ago. The stories themselves are fascinating in a horrible way; while one admires the spirit of the Japanese peoples' stoic response to the immediate aftermath of the bomb, it is also dismaying to learn that most were willing to go on fighting even then. The emperor's speech on the radio was all that could douse that determination:

“The war is over.”

“Don’t say such a foolish thing, sister.”

“But I heard it over the radio myself.” And then, in a whisper, “It was the Emperor’s voice.”

“Oh,” Mrs. Nakamura said (she needed nothing more to make her give up thinking, in spite of the atomic bomb, that Japan still had a chance to win the war), “in that case . . .”

It is still a moral puzzle, even now. It is likely that millions of Japanese would have died in an Allied invasion of the main islands, not to mention over a million American and British troops. It's a gruesome calculus; over 200,000 dead in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to avoid many times as many dead in an invasion? Maybe - we'll never know. As a boy, I was acquainted with many veterans of the Pacific War because I lived in a military community, and they, to a man, expressed the feelings of relief they felt when the bomb was dropped because they knew then that they would live and not be killed in the planned invasion of Japan. Many also shared the feeling, as my dad (another veteran) said, that war is the absolute worst thing that can happen, and it should always be avoided if possible; and that if a war must be fought, it should be ended as quickly as possible. Sadly, our leaders in recent times have lost that fundamental understanding of war.

Jonathan Tysick

Hersey's blunt, narrative style makes this a hauntingly poignant read. I was especially interested because two of the six survivors Hersey follows are Christian religious professionals (a German Jesuit missionary and a Japanese Methodist minister). The edition I read tracked the six survivors into the 1980's, showing the long term effects of the attack on their lives. Anyone (especially any Christian!) who defends the bombing as morally justified needs to read this book.

Rakesh S

It's a masterpiece in journalistic writing. 

If interested, the first edition and the last chapter that was added 40 years later are available as two long articles on newyorker.com.

Kat Albanese

Nelson Zagalo

Ao chegar a Hiroshima, em Maio de 1946, o jornalista John Hersey deparou-se com um cenário que já tinha sido amplamente noticiado, a destruição maciça da paisagem urbana, causada pelo lançamento da primeira bomba nuclear sobre uma cidade habitada, a 6 de agosto de 1945. A sua abordagem seria diferente de qualquer outra reportagem feita até então, sobre este ou qualquer outro tema. Hersey entrevistaria múltiplas pessoas, escolheria aprofundar a vida de seis delas, com o que enceteria a escrita da primeira novela documental. Assim, "Hiroshima" lê-se como um drama literário, reportando factos, eventos e notícias como se de uma novela se tratasse.

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ver em https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...]

Em temos sensoriais, "Hiroshima" fica bastante atrás de "Vozes de Chernobyl", contudo o contexto que suporta a descrição é muito mais violento, tornando a sua leitura muito mais dramática. Hersey escreveu nos anos 1940, uma época em que os media eram bastante contidos em termos gráficos, não descreve os horrores que lhe contaram nem que viu, dá indícios, apresenta alguns laivos, mas um pouco à distância. No entanto, o impacto do que escreveu, à data foi enorme. Para nós, hoje, o pouco que diz ganha uma dimensão abrasadora pelo contexto, ou seja, o primeiro lugar densamente habitado a sofrer uma detonação nuclear de forma premeditada e no desconhecimento de todos os que lá viviam. Os relatos da tentativa de adivinhar que tipo de bomba teria sido lançada impressionam fortemente porque nada é pior que o desconhecido. O cabelo cai, a pele cai, os órgãos deixam de conseguir reproduzir, mas se não soubermos porquê o terror aumenta.

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Antes e depois da detonação da bomba baseada em urânio que produziu um impacto equivalente a 15 mil toneladas de TNT, tendo morto imediatamente cerca de 90 mil pessoas, e nos meses subsequentes mais cerca de 50 mil.

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3 anos após a detonação, em 1948, as crianças ainda usavam máscara em Hiroshima para alegadamente se protegerem da radiação.

Ou seja, o registo apesar de leve oferece-nos uma "fotografia" bastante aproximada da vida naquele lugar nos dias imediatamente a seguir à explosão e é insubstituível. Aliás, não é por acaso que as obras de Svetlana Alexievich são tão relevantes, as vozes de quem passa pelas tragédias conseguem aportar uma dimensão humana que é impossível de transmitir por meio de terceiros ou mesmo de registos audiovisuais.

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Este número da New Yorker foi publicado com um texto único, este de John Hersey

Esta reportagem, que a New Yorker continua a manter completa e acessível online, foi ainda importante, porque naquela altura tanto o governo americano como o japonês procuraram ocultar o que tinha verdadeiramente acontecido em Hiroshima e Nagasaki. Para saber mais sobre este livro, a sua origem e a sua publicação pela New Yorker, aconselho a leitura do texto “Hiroshima”: a reportagem do horror é a reportagem do século" publicada no Expresso de 31 de agosto de 2016.

Publicado no blog VI: 
https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...

Jade Flynn

Such an important topic that isn't spoken, remembered or taught enough in schools. I always struggle reviewing these kind of books because the subject matter clearly succeeds a star rating but at the same time I felt like the writing caused a disconnect for me between the events and the reading experience and it shouldn't have done.

Mary Rose Gibson

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A. D. Knapp

Darcy Lambert

On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped on a city. This book, John Hersey's journalistic masterpiece, tells what happened on that day. Told through the memories of survivors, this timeless, powerful and compassionate document has become a classic "that stirs the conscience of humanity" (The New York Times). Almost four decades after the original publication of this celebrated book, John Hersey went back to Hiroshima in search of the people whose stories he had told. His account of what he discovered about them is now the eloquent and moving final chapter of Hiroshima.

Rifqaiza Pravangesta

Satyajeet Pal

Marga Camps

Sam D

'The room was filled with a blinding light. She was paralysed by fear, fixed still in her chair for a long moment. Everything fell.' 2015 is the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima, when, on 6 August at 8.15am, an atomic bomb was dropped, killing one hundred thousand men, women and children in its white fury. John Hersey's spare, devastating report on the attack was first published in the New Yorkerin 1946. Written in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, it chronicles what happened through the eyes of six civilians. It is a classic piece of journalism, and a defining moment of the nuclear age. 'One of the most powerful writers of modern times.' Washington Post

Hiroshima

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