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Prompt And Utter Destruction Summary

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Name: Course Instructor: Class: Date: Critical Book Review: Prompt and Utter Destruction Introduction Within weeks, word on the US dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki began to spread that the main reason behind the bombs was to save the lives of Americans (Bernard). It was put that hundreds of thousands of American military causalities were saved through the bombings. Lives that would have been lost through invasion of Japan were saved, in addition to maintaining that both military and civilian Japanese causalities were prevented through the atomic bombs that contributed to the end of the war (Norris). However, was the word true? In the Prompt & Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan, historian J. Samuel Walker provides an …show more content…

Walker does not just take the reader on a tour of the decision-making process of President Truman and shows what made him to order the use of Atomic bombs on Japan, but he also provide an exploration of the historical situation that prompted the decision. He also examines the viewpoint of the Japanese, not only regarding the impact of the bombings on their ultimate decision to surrender, but also how their Allies called for an unconditional surrender. This call could possibly have led to the Japanese Emperor, Hirohito, being tried on counts of war crimes, which may have possibly made the Japanese to be reluctant on surrendering even in light of a crushing defeat (Huczko). Samuel Walker also provides useful insights into contribution made by the decision to use Atomic weapons on Japanese decision to surrender. Overall, the work is worth reading and is recommendable for students and scholars with interest in the Truman administration, atomic warfare and weapons, the second world war, relations between the US and the Soviet, and those curious of knowing the reasons that led to Truman’s decision to use two atomic bombs on

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It also had long lasting effects that still impact Japanese lives. In the newspaper by Jack Doherty headlined ¨Atomic Bomb Fury Hits Japan¨ after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the president said, ¨It was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction.¨ Yet, look where it has gone and how much damage it had cost Japan. I encourage you to not listen to these statements as if they were true, and right the wrongs the atomic bombs have done to Japan by unjustifying the act and telling others to do so as

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