Hiroshima John Hersey

HIROSHIMA: By John Hersey (Penguin Books Harmondsworth Middlesex England, 1946). Ix + 133pp. Reviewed by E. Mbong, Nov 15, 2014.

Hiroshima is an award winning book by John Hersey, An American writer and Journalist, Published in 1946. The book is about the bomb blast that occur in Hiroshima and the testimonial told by six survivors named “Toshiko Sasaki, Dr. Masakazu Fujii, Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura, Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, Dr. Terufumi Sasaki, and Reverend Mr. Kiyoshi Tammoto”(v).

The writer, John Hershey was born in china on June 17, 1914, and lived there for 9 years before returning to America. On his stay in America, Hersey wrote many books and novel, which won him a Pulitzer Prize award. He is best known for his writings such as Men on

To show how the characters were able to adapts to their new surroundings and to deal with new challenges that they are now faced with–including the strength they need to survive. In 1945, the world did not have an advanced technology as we do now. So it was quite difficult for outsiders to know and understand what was going on in Hiroshima at that instant the bomb was dropped; and neither would they have known the impact of the incidence on the victims and their families. However, with the released of this book the writer was able to describe in great details the events that occurred in Hiroshima, giving the reader much needed knowledge and information regarding the war and the disaster specifically. The author’s main focus was to make the reader feel the same way as the victims, by introducing them to the real life characters of the

Hersey describes what each victim’s actions leading to the incidents and their action thereafter. He describes one of the character as “Dr. Terufumi Sasaki, the Red Cross Hospital surgeon”, who “had slept uneasily all night and had weakened an hour earlier than usual, and, feeling sluggish and slightly feverish, and debated whether to go to the hospital at all” (29). At this point, the author defined the character’s action and decision making that determined his fate that day. Here, the writer lets the reader understand that Dr. Sasaki was not 100 percent willing to go to work, sensing that there’s a tragedy around the corner. With this detailed information, the reader may begin to have an idea of what to expect or even predict what the upcoming incident will become. The build up to the book is so vital because it does not only make the story interesting, but also teaches the society a valuable lesson about life and how it can change so rapidly. It helps the reader sympathize with the victims and that nobody should take anything for granted. It demonstrates the fact that 15 minute can completely change a person’s perception about life and question the morality of human