The Hiroshima Men - by Iain MacGregor

Book Synopsis

An epic, "painstakingly researched" (Los Angeles Times) work of historical nonfiction, based on new interviews and research, that elucidates the approval, construction, and fateful decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima--one of the most consequential moments in World War II history.

At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, the Japanese port city of Hiroshima was struck by the world's first atomic bomb. Built in the US by the top-secret Manhattan Project and delivered by a B-29 Superfortress, the weapon destroyed large swaths of the city, instantly killing tens of thousands. The world would never be the same.

The Hiroshima Men's vivid narrative recounts the decade-long path to this first atomic attack. It charts the race for the bomb during World War II, as the Allies fought the Axis powers, and is told through several pivotal figures: General Leslie Groves, leader of the Manhattan Project alongside Robert Oppenheimer; pioneering Army Air Force pilot Colonel Paul Tibbets Jr.; the mayor of Hiroshima, Senkichi Awaya, who died alongside eighty thousand fellow citizens; and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Hersey, whose landmark New Yorker article exposed the devastation the bomb inflicted on the city and described in unflinching detail the dangers of radiation poisoning.

This "potent...powerful" (Associated Press), and compelling military history spans from the corridors of power in the White House and the Pentagon to the test sites of New Mexico; from the air war above Germany to the Potsdam Conference of Truman, Churchill, and Stalin; from the savage reconquest of the Pacific Theater to the deadly firebombing air raids across Japan. The Hiroshima Men also includes Japanese perspectives--a vital element often missing from Western accounts--to complete Iain MacGregor's deeply human exploration of the ethical implications, political context, and long shadow cast by the atomic bomb.

Review Quotes

"The Hiroshima Men is a brilliant, superbly researched story of genius and terrifying destruction." --Alex Kershaw, New York Times bestselling author of Against All Odds: a True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival In World War II

"A well-researched study of how warfare was forever changed with the dropping of Fat Man and Little Boy. . . . deftly chronicles the key figures involved in U.S. government and the military who helped end a war while ushering in the tense nuclear age that followed it." --Booklist

"By going deeper into the personal details and reminiscences of a generation that is all but lost to us now . . . MacGregor [has] made the story more human, especially when the weapon's essential inhumanity threatens to overshadow everything else." --Wall Street Journal

"A potent reminder of the extreme human costs that were wrought by the first atomic weapon employed during warfare. By profiling some key players, MacGregor pulls readers into their personal stories with visually enticing description and lively dialogue. . . . powerful." --AP

"Crucially, MacGregor's painstakingly researched history of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of World War II includes Japanese perspectives. . . . [He] treats the atomic bomb more as a weapon of mass murder and less as a scientific breakthrough, while managing to convey the urgency behind its development for the Allied forces." --Los Angeles Times

"I can think of no more important book for our time. Written with moral clarity, tremendous verve, and the ability of a truly great historian to render the immensity of a moment through the smaller voices as well as being faithful to the facts. I recommend this magisterial, haunting book to all generations." --Fergal Keane, award-winning BBC foreign correspondent and author of Road of Bones

"Iain Macgregor's compelling account impresses in many ways. Unheralded individuals take center stage. Vividly drawn characters spring to life. But it is his expertly managed juxtaposition of science, strategy and visceral horror that stands out." --Joshua Levine, New York Times bestselling author of Dunkirk

"In his latest book, Iain MacGregor tackles the most important event of the Second World War - the development and use of atomic weapons. By examining the background, technologies, personalities on both sides, and the impact of this terrible weapon, this book becomes indispensable reading on the topic." --Mark Stille, author of Midway: The Pacific War's Most Famous Battle

"A meticulously researched and profoundly thought-provoking account of one of history's most consequential events. . . . More than just a work of history, this is also a sobering meditation on war, science and morality. Superb." --James Holland, author of Normandy '44

"Once again, MacGregor weaves together a wide range of sources to create a gripping, moving and frequently surprising narrative, this time of how World War Two ended in human-created apocalypse, and a new era began with a mix of hope and horror that still characterizes our lives eight decades later." --Frederick Taylor, author of Dresden

"The atomic bombing that obliterated Hiroshima has not lacked for attention from historians and other writers. But Iain MacGregor's gripping book vastly expands the cast of characters: politicians and scientists in Japan and the United States; military men on both sides, from generals to pilots and air crews; victims on the ground both dead and alive; writers and journalists covering the story--all portrayed vividly as the story dramatically unfolds." --William Taubman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Khrushchev: The Man and His Era

"The nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was one of the most iconic moments of the twentieth century. Yet little has been written about the individuals whose actions led to Japan's unconditional surrender. Iain MacGregor's The Hiroshima Men is epic in scale yet intimate in detail, its pages filled with mavericks and geniuses who forever changed our world. A meticulously researched and compellingly written tour-de-force." --Giles Milton, author of The Stalin Affair

About the Author

Iain MacGregor is the author of the acclaimed history of Cold War Berlin: Checkpoint Charlie and the award-winning The Lighthouse of Stalingrad: The Hidden Truth Behind WWII's Greatest Battle. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, has spoken at many literary festivals and conferences in the UK and abroad, appeared on podcasts such as The Rest Is History and on television documentaries. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Spectator, BBC History Magazine, and The Guardian. He lives in London.