Essential Reading On The 70th Anniversary Of Hiroshima
BEYOND THE BOMB
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Seventy years ago today, the United States dropped the world's first atomic weapon on Hiroshima, Japan, in an attempt to force the Japanese into surrender in the late stages of World War II. The bomb flattened the city and killed tens of thousands instantly. Here's what you should read about Hiroshima today.

A Painful Memory

Japan Marks 70 Years Since The Bomb

People across Japan have observed a minute's silence to mark the anniversary. In Hiroshima a bell tolled at 8:15 local time – when the US aircraft dropped the bomb that flattened the city centre.

[BBC]

Beyond The Blast

The Man Who Survived The Bomb

It is not as if Sunao Tsuboi needs another reminder of his violent encounter, as a 20-year-old university student, with a "living hell on earth". The facial scars he has carried for seven decades are proof enough. But, as if to remind himself of the day he became a witness to the horrors of nuclear warfare, he removes a a black-and-white photograph and points to the shaved head of a young man looking away from the lens.

[The Guardian]

DOUBLE YOUR LUCK

And The Man Who Survived Both Bombs

On the morning of August 6th, 1945, Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a work trip. He was walking to the office when the first atomic bomb was dropped about a mile away. He survived, and eventually managed to get himself onto a train back to his hometown … Nagasaki.

 

[Radiolab]

Whither The Warning SHot?

The US Didn't Need To Drop The Bomb

[T]he A-bombs' advent [allowed] the US to wield the threat of nuclear attack. With the first device tested and proven in July 1945, and numerous others being readied early in August, America could have used their power as a new dimension of threat — rather than crudely dropping the bombs as mass killers.

[Quartz]


Urban Destruction

What If The Hiroshima Bomb Hit Your City?

But how to show the damage more clearly? We've developed an application that allows you to visualize the damage of the same atomic bomb on another location in today's world, such as your hometown. You may be surprised at the extent of the damage.

[PRI]

Drawn From Experience

The Bomb's Influence On Japanese Anime And Manga

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — along with the firebombings of Tokyo — were traumatic experiences for the Japanese people. It's no surprise that for years, the devastation remained at the forefront of their conscience, and that part of the healing process meant returning to this imagery in literature, in music and in art.

[The Conversation via Digg]


The Target Committee

The Bureaucrats Who Chose Hiroshima And Nagasaki

The gentlemen unanimously agreed that the bomb should be dropped on a large urban center, the psychological impact of which should be "spectacular" to ensure "international recognition" of the new weapon.

[The Atlantic]

Flash Photography

A Rare Photo Of The Bomb's Cloud, Uncovered In 2013

According to the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun, a memo on the back of the photo says it was shot near the town of Kaitaichi, some six miles east of ground zero, two minutes after the bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945.

[Discovery News]

Fateful Day

How The Day Unfolded

A timeline of events on 6 August 1945, the day a nuclear bomb was used in war for the first time, and its aftermath.

[Buzzfeed]

Scorched Earth

Why Is Safe To Live In Hiroshima Today, But Not Chernobyl?

Most experts agree that the areas in the 30 kilometer Chernobyl exclusion zone are terribly contaminated with radioactive isotopes like caesium-137, strontium-90 and iodine-131, and, therefore, are unsafe for human habitation. Yet neither Nagasaki nor Hiroshima suffer these conditions. This difference is attributable to three factors: (1) the Chernobyl reactor had a lot more nuclear fuel; (2) that was much more efficiently used in reactions; and (3) the whole mess exploded at ground level. Consider:

[Today I Found Out]

Where We Stand

What To Know About Nuclear Weapons In 2015

Although the raw numbers are decreasing, this continued investment has built bombs many times more powerful than those used in 1945. "It's generally believed that the warheads used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons," said Tariq Rauf, director of Sipri's Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Program. "The smallest weapon in the arsenal of the U.S. and Russia today is 100 kilotons."

[NBC News]

A PIECE WRITTEN IN 1945

A Visit To The Secret Town In Tennessee That Gave Birth To The Atomic Bomb

Oak Ridge, home of the Manhattan Project, spanned more than 60,000 acres and housed tens of thousands of workers and their families. The complex was entirely surrounded by walls, armed guards were stationed at all entry points, and workers had little idea what they were doing. The secrecy that shrouded the facility that birthed the nuclear age comes through in this piece, written just three months after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

[The New Republic]

<p>Dan Fallon is Digg's Editor in Chief.&nbsp;</p>

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