Hiroshima by Edward Asner, John Hersey (2007, Compact Disc)

On August 6, 1945, the United States ushered in the era of atomic warfare by bombing Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb leveled Nagasaki, forcing the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II. Hersey’s non-fiction classic follows the lives of six Hiroshima survivors, from their first reaction to the blast, through their injuries and medical histories, to their heroic attempts to justify and rebuild their lives.

Hiroshima had been a vital city of 240,000 people before the Enola Gay let loose its weapon. Over 100,000 inhabitants were killed and an equal number seriously injured. Hersey selected his six people wisely, two being doctors and two others members of the clergy, uniquely situated to register the full scope of the tragedy. The remaining two, a widow and a clerk, recount more representative experiences.

This is a work small in size but large in impact. Hersey’s writing is terse and objective. In keeping with the style and tone of the book, narrator Ed Asner maintains a reporter’s neutrality. The horror and the triumph of humanity speak eloquently all by themselves.