Hiroshima - John Hersey

1. Hiroshima

2. John Hersey

3. Hiroshima is a work of nonfiction that illuminates the terrors of nuclear warfare. The novel begins introducing the six main characters, Reverend Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto, Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura, Dr. Masakazu Fujii, Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, Dr. Terufumi Sasaki and Toshiko Sasaki. John Hersey goes on to discuss what each character was doing a few moments before the explosion of the Atomic Bomb. Throughout the beginning, the characters all share common thoughts of fear and confusion, parallel to those in the few hours after the September eleventh attacks. After the initial blast, people begin to emerge from their wrecked homes. Almost every building in Hiroshima is destroyed, including the hospitals and other medical facilities. A small, makeshift harbor for the injured is set up in Asano Park where the remaining doctors tend to the injured. Asano Park is where the six main characters are brought together and viewed as a group, either injured or helping. A naval ship, to the victims delight, arrives at Hiroshima to tell the people that help is on the way. The people of Hiroshima realize the extent of the damage when they find dead bodies floating down the river coming from the inner city. The eyes of the dead were liquefied, all hair had been incinerated and pieces of bone showed through the transparent skin of their faces. Some of the refugees of Asano Park recognize the bodies and go mad. Two days go by and no help arrives, however, on the third day another naval ship steams up the river and rescues the injured of Asano Park. The six main characters separate and are sent to different hospitals allover the country to learn their fates. A few weeks pass and people begin to reenter the city. Rebuilding projects are underway and the future looks bright for the city of Hiroshima, until people begin to contract radiation sickness. Many of the citizens hair falls out and they become deathly sick with a high fever and nausea. Three of the main characters, Father Kleinsorge, Mr. Tanimoto and Mrs. Nakimura contract this illness and are bedridden. A month after the explosion, clouds gather above the city and huge amounts of rain pour down from the sky, flooding the river. The high waters flow up into the city, destroying all the reconstruction efforts and force the people to once again evacuate the city. Once the raging waters subside, the city is quickly repopulated