Bombs Away (review of eight books on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki)

Bombs Away

JAMES B. Conant was right to worry. In 1946, appalled at a sudden wave of criticism directed at the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Conant (president of Harvard University and a principal architect of America’s A-bomb effort) feared a reprise of the second thoughts about American intervention abroad that had arisen post-Versailles 25 years before. Conant urged retired Secretary of War Henry Stimson to prepare a defense of the decision to use the bomb; Conant wanted a definitive and authoritative statement that would prevent future generations from being led astray by the “sentimental” and “verbally minded” who—in Conant’s experience—dominated the teaching profession.

MK

About the Author

Michael King

Bombs Away

JAMES B. Conant was right to worry. In 1946, appalled at a sudden wave of criticism directed at the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Conant (president of Harvard University and a principal architect of America’s A-bomb effort) feared a reprise of the second thoughts about American intervention abroad that had arisen post-Versailles 25 years before. Conant urged retired Secretary of War Henry Stimson to prepare a defense of the decision to use the bomb; Conant wanted a definitive and authoritative statement that would prevent future generations from being led astray by the “sentimental” and “verbally minded” who—in Conant’s experience—dominated the teaching profession.