About this item
In this harrowing history of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, Paul Ham argues against the use of nuclear weapons, drawing on extensive research and hundreds of interviews to prove that the bombings had little impact on the eventual outcome of the Pacific War. More than 100,000 people were killed instantly by the atomic bombs, mostly women, children, and the elderly. Many hundreds of thousands more succumbed to their horrific injuries later, or slowly perished of radiation-related sickness.Yet American leaders claimed the bombs were "our least abhorrent choice"--and still today most people believe they ended the Pacific War and saved millions of American and Japanese lives. In this gripping narrative, Ham demonstrates convincingly that misunderstandings and nationalist fury on both sides led to the use of the bombs.
About the Author
PAUL HAM is a historian specialising in war, conflict and politics. Born and raised in Sydney, Paul has spent his working life in London, Sydney and Paris.
His books have been published to critical acclaim in Australia, Britain, the United States and many other countries, and have won several literary awards.
His latest title is 'Young Hitler: The Making of the Führer', a new examination of how Hitler's youth influenced his rise to power (Penguin Random House UK and Australia/NZ, Pegasus USA and Objetiva Brazil) .
He has also written 'Passchendaele: Requiem for Doomed Youth', a new history of one of the worst conflicts on the Western Front; 'Hiroshima Nagasaki', a provocative history of the atomic bombings; '1914: The Year The World Ended'; 'Sandakan'; 'Vietnam: The Australian War'; and 'Kokoda'.
Paul has co-written two ABC documentaries based on his work: 'Kokoda', a 2-part series on the defeat of the Japanese army in Papua in 1942, shortlisted for the New York Documentary prize; and 'All the Way', a feature documentary about Australia's alliance with America during the Vietnam War, which he also narrated, and which received the UN's Media Peace prize.
A former correspondent for The Sunday Times, Paul has a Masters degree in Economic History from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He lives in Paris, with frequent trips to Sydney and London, and takes time off now and then to produce the Big Fat Poetry Pig-Out, an annual poetry recital, for charity.
