To Hell and Back

The Last Train from Hiroshima

By: Charles Pellegrino

Narrated by: David Colacci

To Hell and Back offers listeners a stunning "you are there" time capsule, wrapped in elegant prose. Charles Pellegrino's scientific authority and close relationship with the A-bomb survivors make his account the most gripping and authoritative ever written.

At the narrative's core are eyewitness accounts of those who experienced the atomic explosions firsthand - the Japanese civilians on the ground. As the first city targeted, Hiroshima is the focus of most histories. Pellegrino gives equal weight to the bombing of Nagasaki, symbolized by the 30 people who are known to have fled Hiroshima for Nagasaki - where they arrived just in time to survive the second bomb. One of them, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, is the only person who experienced the full effects of both cataclysms within Ground Zero. The second time, the blast effects were diverted around the stairwell behind which Yamaguchi's office conference was convened - placing him and few others in a shock cocoon that offered protection while the entire building disappeared around them.

Pellegrino weaves spellbinding stories together within a narrative that challenges the "official report", showing exactly what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki - and why.

©2015 Rowman & Littlefield (P)2020 Tantor

Haunting

A nanosecond by nanosecond account of the affects of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with horrifying details of both the killed and the surviving. Riveting yet difficult to get through because of its subject matter. I highly recommend this book.

Really liked it.

The author vividly paints an accurate portrayal of the people in the cities. Big fan.

Powerful Account of Nuclear War

Intensely graphic! Sobering!

This is a gripping story of how people are impacted by nuclear war. Pellegrino gives you all of the details! Warning, his writing is intellectually graphic in a way the reader can feel the pain of the victims and survivors!

the amount of detail inthe field is second to nothing i have ever read before.

i understand how it was written, but sometimes itndoesnget a small bit repetitive, when it circles back. but overall, still 5/5!

Scientifically fascinating, and absolutely enthralling and disturbing. 

I truly believe that everyone alive should listen to this book. I also would like to give a warning that it does show that the most intelligent people in the world are sometimes the dumbest. Yes… I am speaking of Einstein, Oppenheimer, and everyone else who was esteemed to be the most intelligent people in the world. Perhaps we need to redefine our definition of intelligence. This book is not for the faint of heart and at the same time it’s something that I think is a very important part of our history. We must read this and remember to never let this happen again.