Death in Life - by Robert Jay Lifton (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published: New York: Random House, c1967. With new pref.

Book Synopsis

In Japan, "hibakusha" means "the people affected by the explosion" -- specifically, the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945. In this classic study, winner of the 1969 National Book Award in Science, Lifton studies the psychological effects of the bomb on 90,000 survivors. He sees this analysis as providing a last chance to understand -- and be motivated to avoid -- nuclear war. This compassionate treatment is a significant contribution to the atomic age.

From the Back Cover

In Japan, 'hibakusha means 'the people affected by the explosion'----specifically, the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945. In this classic study, Robert Jay Lifton studies the psychological effects of the bomb on 90,000 survivors. Lifton sees this analysis as providing a last chance to understand----and be motivated to avoid----nuclear war.

Review Quotes

"[A] compassionate and important study of the malaise that still pollutes the spirits of many survivors." -- Time

"A significant contribution to the atomic age." -- New York Times

"One of those rare works destined to bear witness and change the lives of those who read it." -- Newsweek

About the Author

Robert Jay Lifton is lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima and The Nazi Doctors.