Hours after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, this fire-storm cloud developed over the burning city. Author Iain MacGregor explores the Japanese experience of the bombing in his new book The Hiroshima Men. [WIkimedia]
It’s no surprise that the devastation the August 1945 atomic bombs brought to the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has continued to be investigated by authors and academics alike. One of those authors, British historian Iain MacGregor, has chosen a surprising way to approach the much-discussed topic in his new book The Hiroshima Men: The Quest to Build the Atomic Bomb, and the Fateful Decision to Use It.
The narrative details the decades-long journey toward the detonation as much as the detonation itself. Moreover, instead of focusing solely on the U.S. perspective, MacGregor delivers a groundbreaking exploration of the Japanese experience so often missing from western discourse.
It’s an ambitious project, populated by deeply human stories from renowned figures such as Manhattan Project leader J. Robert Oppenheimer to the relatively unknown mayor of Hiroshima, Senkichi Awaya. The result is a vibrant and nuanced tapestry, unafraid to tackle hotly debated themes while delivering thought-provokingly fresh interpretations.
Take, for example, his examination of Canada’s contributions to the bomb, illuminating the country’s role in providing high-grade uranium and Canadian-born physicists.
To discuss his vision and hopes for the book, MacGregor spoke with Legion Magazine about what makes his retelling of history worth the read.
British historian Iain MacGregor. [Adrian Pope]
About writing the book
Major anniversaries always demand that historians and authors take a fresh look at events to see if there is new information and research to be done that provides the reader with fresh insight. With all of my books, I try to achieve that goal through carrying out years of archival research and analyzing new eyewitness interviews. When one watches the Hollywood movie Oppenheimer, which picked up several Oscars and [British Academy of Film and Television Awards], there are surprisingly no Japanese voices, nor do we see what the atomic bomb actually did to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Equally, people come away thinking that almost all of it occurred within the confines of the war years.
My book charts the various reasons a war in the Pacific between the United States and Imperial Japan occurred, the race to harness atomic energy, but also the steps taken by the U.S. to rearm and prepare for a drawn-out campaign. I also chart the story of why the U.S. government considered it logical for the atomic bomb to be used and how the threat of radiation poisoning was revealed to the world in 1946.
Several things emerged that shocked me [while writing The Hiroshima Men]. For one, the absolute hatred both sides had for one another, which unmistakably took on a racial tone. One American military historian describes the Pacific conflict as “one enormous race riot.” There’s also the capacity of both sides to embrace new technology and tactics to inflict casualties upon one another: for the U.S., their B-29 bombing campaign over the Home Islands [the postwar Japanese archipelago] with incendiaries; for the Japanese military, their deployment of suicide aircraft, kamikaze, to destroy Allied vessels.
I try to tell a human story within these seismic confrontations. If you can succeed in this, then the reader might be swept along in what you hope will be a riveting narrative that gives a personal insight into events that had global consequences.
Balance [between Japanese and U.S. perspectives] was vital throughout. You can’t be drawn into favouring one side over the other when you’re a historian. I just did the research across all areas I thought were necessary in the narrative I wished to write. It meant I needed to meet and interview eyewitnesses, as well as visit the Japanese archives to delve into various testimonies, diaries, and letters. These elements combined build a backdrop to how you will approach the final draft.
[Scribner]
About his hopes for the reader
I want readers to see past the usual stereotypes. I believe the Pacific War was as brutal as any other theatre of war in the Second World War—no weapon (other than poisonous gas) was seemingly off the table. The U.S. may have justifiably stated that it was fighting a “good war” after Japan’s deadly attack on Pearl Harbor, but the retribution it then meted out on the Japanese Home Islands was, as President Truman rightly concluded in August 1945, a “rain of ruin.” I hope I show the reader how that happened, as well as how logically, the Americans were always going to drop the bomb, come what may, in August 1945.
This abridged interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
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