Fallout

I read John Hersey's haunting [b:Hiroshima 27323 Hiroshima John Hersey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657555929l/27323.SY75.jpg 1014091] decades ago, but TIL that it almost didn't see the light of day. The US government tried to suppress any information about the horrific effects of dropping the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, so we wouldn't look like bad guys. Without the book's unflinching portrayal of six Hiroshima survivors, Americans wouldn't have known that what happened on August 6, 1945 was much worse than a “very large bomb,” and realized the terrible power of radiation poisoning. Once they understood that the same thing could happen here, the dynamics of the Cold War changed significantly. I wish Blume had provided more insight into what made John Hersey tick. Even without that information, Fallout is a critical reminder that strong, independent journalism is needed to speak truth to power.