Monday, March 15, 2010

The Last Train from Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino 940.54 Pel

Minutes before I sat down to write this blog Michele told me there was some controversy about this book and some of the sources. Maybe there are a few inaccuracies in the book but that aside it was a very powerful book. It was so eerie to read about Ground Zero (the first time that phrase was used), people and things being vaporized , terrified people looking for loved ones and pretending to themselves that they are only 'missing', and people who survived because of a missed train or a mother calling them inside. The parallels between Hiroshima and 9/11 were interesting. There are lots of stories told in the book, many of them about people who survived Hiroshima and left on a train for the safety of Nagasaki - that didn't work out so well.
I had insomnia last night - maybe because I finished this book before trying to sleep! As a baby boomer I was always afraid of "the bomb" but after reading this description I realize that I wasn't scared enough!
If you like history and non-fiction, I think you will find this an interesting read.

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