Shockwave

Countdown to Hiroshima

Stephen Walker

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Paperback

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English

HARPER360
16 October 2020

History; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000; Social & cultural history; Military history; Second World War

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

‘A stunning book, among the most immediate and thrilling works of history I have ever read’

At 8:15am on August 6th 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. In an instant, the temperature at its core rose to millions of degrees. Sixty-thousand buildings were obliterated. A third of the city’s population died, by heat, by the blast, and by a terrible new weapon in the history of warfare: radiation.

In this riveting account, Stephen Walker follows the stories of real people in the extraordinary weeks leading up to the explosion and in its aftermath. From the atomic engineer who armed the bomb in mid-air to the Japanese doctors treating thousands of burnt bodies on the ground. From the flight crews and scientists to world leaders and civilian victims. With intimate testimony and remarkable stories, this is the startling narrative behind the dawn of the atomic age.

By: Stephen Walker
Imprint: HARPER360
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 300g
ISBN: 9780008372552
ISBN 10: 0008372551
Pages: 302
Publication Date: 16 October 2020
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Stephen Walker is a BAFTA-winning British filmmaker and author. He was educated at Oxford and Harvard universities. He has directed around 30 films, for the BBC, the UK's Channel 4, ITV, PBS and numerous other broadcasters. He has won a BAFTA, an Emmy and two Rose d'Ors, and twice been voted in the top 10 directors in the UK by Broadcast Magazine.

Reviews for Shockwave: Countdown to Hiroshima

'Shockwave is a stunning book, among the most immediate and thrilling works of history I have ever read.' Irish Times 'Dramatic ... an important page-turner ... admirably even-handed and smoothly written.' Entertainment Weekly 'Electrifying ...The tension and concentration of Walker's thriller-like prose elicits a visceral response.' Chicago Tribune 'Uniquely readable, immediate, and human ... an exceptionally taut and revealing chronicle.' Booklist 'Walker takes readers on a roller-coaster ride ... invite[s] comparison with John Hersey's still-classic Hiroshima.' Publishers Weekly 'Superb ... Walker writes with a sense of urgency and high drama . . . engrossing [and] saddening.' Kirkus Reviews