Prompt and Utter Destruction

Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs against Japan, Third Edition

By: J. Samuel Walker

Narrated by: Eric Martin

In this concise account of why America used atomic bombs against Japan in 1945, J. Samuel Walker analyzes the reasons behind President Truman's most controversial decision. Delineating what was known and not known by American leaders at the time, Walker evaluates the options available for ending the war with Japan. In this new edition, Walker incorporates a decade of new research - mostly from Japanese archives only recently made available - that provides fresh insight on the strategic considerations that led to dropping the bomb. From the debate about whether to invade or continue the conventional bombing of Japan to Tokyo's agonizing deliberations over surrender and the effects of both low- and high-level radiation exposure, Walker continues to shed light on one of the most earthshaking moments in history.

Rising above an often polemical debate, the third edition presents an accessible synthesis of previous work and new research to help make sense of the events that ushered in the atomic age.

©1997, 2004 The University of North Carolina Press (P)2019 Tantor

An objective review of the issue

This book was very informative about the decisions and factors surrounding the use of the atomic bombs. It’s relatively short yet contains a lot of information. I would have liked it to have included more information on the effects of the bombs and the Manhattan Project’s history but that could be found elsewhere anyway and was not the objective of the book. Before listing to the book, I was a strong supporter of the decision to use the weapons, after it, I retain my position but would say that my conviction has been slightly diminished. The author did an excellent job of not only providing information on various perspectives, both at the time the decision was made and since then but doing so in an unbiased way.

Enjoyed it

Plenty of details you might not have know and was an interesting listen. Time flew by and enjoyed the narrator enough I’ll listen again.

Interesting and informative

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. It’s a topic that’s always interested me. It’s well written, and didn’t drag. There was never a moment where I wished he would get to the point or felt dragged out.

detailed analysis of an important

of Ww2 history, distinguishes between fact based scholarship and jingoistic drivel-mythology, an excellent historical work

INTERESTING BOOK

Clearly gave me food for thought. Short as it addresses one small question - why did Truman decide to drop the A-Bomb. It's brevity is also nice. The author seems very fair discounting the idea that hundreds of thousands of American lives would be lost in an invasion. I'm not sure he made this case and as he points out we can never know for sure what would happen in a counterfactual.