Perspectives on Modern World History

This volume provides a brief overview of the major factors that contributed to the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While this volume offers a solid background, it also offers something readers will never forget; compelling first hand accounts of the event. Readers will hear from a Japanese peace activist who was eight years old at the time Hiroshima was bombed. She tells how she and her family emerged from the rubble of their collapsed house, about the hardships that followed, and how she later became ill with radiation sickness. Essays are compiled from a variety of sources and are carefully edited and introduced to provide context for readers unfamiliar with this event.