Hiroshima

By: John Hersey

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

“One of the great classics of the war" (The New Republic) that tells what happened in Hiroshima through the memories of survivors—from a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.

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.

©1946, 1985 John Hersey (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Nothing can be said about this book that can equal what the book has to say. It speaks for itself, and in an unforgettable way, for humanity.” —The New York Times

“One of the great classics of the war.” —The New Republic

“Everyone able to read should read it.” —Saturday Review of Literature

Restrained but gripping

John Hersey’s short book “Hiroshima” is a powerful piece of reporting. In four chapters, he gives us a series of snapshots of the suffering that descended without warning on the city on 6 August 1945; and he follows up with a chapter tracing the lives of the six survivors he focused on through the first part of the book.

One of the most wrenching passages comes in this later section. As a number of survivors join groups to campaign for world peace and against nuclear weapons, Hersey calmly recites the dates when other countries first tested their own nuclear weapons. First the USSR. Then England. Then India. Then France. And then.... the hydrogen bomb. US intelligence agencies had these groups, including some of the survivors — one of them a Methodist minister — under surveillance, debating whether they were “Reds”.

Hersey's description of the carnage is actually quite restrained. Hersey mentions people being vaporized; in the next stage, people began arriving at hospitals and treatment centers with terrible burns; in the next stage, weeks (or sometimes years) later the hidden effects of radiation became apparent. People who survived the bombing were often regarded as unmarriageable and unemployable. Cancer ultimately killed more than one of Hersey’s survivors.

It sounds horrendous, and at the time it was enough to cause a worldwide sensation. The US government was engaged in a massive coverup to hide the aftereffects of the bomb, and Hersey partially lifted the cover. For an even more explicit and searing account, I recommend Charles Pellegrino’s book “To Hell and Back”.

George Guidall narrates. If you have a book of tragic gravity, his is definitely the voice you want. As short as it is, it's a powerful listen.

Sad To Know We Are knocking At That Door Again

This needs to be taught. The lessons of, some weapons are unacceptable and should never be used against mankind. The pain and sickness caused by such a decision will pain me going forward.

Worth a listen. Good story. Great narration.

Listening to this book, you can tell that it was an anthology that was later stitched together. But Hersey did a good job of it. I especially liked the later stories from the six subjects.

Guidall's narration was excellent. As someone who narrates for a living, I truly appreciated his ability to go from Japanese to German to English without making anything seem out of place.

Wow

Wish i read this years ago. Eye opener. Will look for his other audio books now

thank you

must read , for the sake of ALL human life.

please teach and display Compassion daily.

things don't matter.

Analysis of citizens’ trauma

I liked the audiobook very much. I didn’t know much about the subject and learned a lot.

Must read book

I don't recall ever learning too much about Hiroshima in school at all. To hear these first hand accounts of people that went through this horrible event is heart wrenching. I feel this book should be read by everyone at any age to fully comprehend what happened to all those innocent, helpless people and to understand the ramifications of this type of warfare.

Oh my....

Very said but worth understanding how that event changed the history books in so many ways. Amazing to hear the first hand story of people living through this horrific event. Well done.

Astonishing

Astonishing. Great narration performance.
Must read, must listen. You go deeply in Hiroshima tragedy when listening.

A Re-VISIT

i read this book wayyyy back in junior high school.
im 69 now…..
still an interesting and visceral read.
the pain and suffering of the Japaneese hit me harder this time around.
i agree with no more nukes.
problem is, the rest of the world dont agree.
maybe i shud say, world governments.
BUT
i was and am in full support of our use of the weapon.
im a student of that war, europe and japan.
the way the fighting was in the Pacific, many American ANNND Japanese lives were eventually spared because of use of
“The Bomb”.

thats war