Hiroshima

"At, exactly fifteen minutes past eight in the morning on August 6, 1945, Japanese time, at the moment when the atomic bomb flashed above Hiroshima, Miss Toshiko Sasaki, a clerk in the personnel department of the East Asia Tin Works, had just sat down at her place in the plant office and was turning her head to speak to the girl at the next desk."

—Opening sentence, Hiroshima, John Hersey, 1946

I’m not really sure how to review a book like this. I’m certain that no matter what I say, it won’t do it justice. It’s a true story of 6 people who survived the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Originally, this was an article for the The New Yorker that was printed one year after the U.S. bombed Hiroshima. It has also been called the finest piece of journalism of the 20th century.

My friend Dan Robson recommended this book to me. I can’t thank him enough for his suggestion, this book will make your jaw drop. Having just finished a Stephen King book before jumping into this one I kept having to shake my head and think “this is a TRUE story, this nightmare I’m reading about actually happened” – that thought is a lot to take in.

I give this book 5 astonished faces out of 5 and highly recommended it to anyone who can read.