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Liberty University *
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501
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History
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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docx
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Uploaded by bdroach
Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116
Days That Changed the World.
Kimberly Perez
HIST 501
March 10, 2023
Wallace, Chris, and Mitch Weiss. Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the 116 Days that Changed the World
. New York: Avid Reader Press, 2020.
The book Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the 116 Days that Changed the World is a historical account of the 116 days that led up to the US's attempt to end the war with Japan by dropping the first atomic bomb in history. Written by Chris Wallace, a Fox News Sunday anchor, the book recounts a time in history when both ethical decisions and bold leadership were necessary. Truman, who was vice president at the time, learns that the efforts to develop the bomb would be inherited by his administration, and Secretary of War Stimson was clear about its potential. Truman believed that employing the new weapon would be preferable to
a ground invasion, which would likely result in hundreds of thousands of casualties on both the American and Japanese sides.
The author took a very complex time in history and broke it down into very manageable time periods, starting with a daily countdown of events and eventually ending up in a second-by-
second play by play of the events that led up to the dropping of the first atomic bomb. The way the author counts down the days creates a buildup of energy and anticipation in the reader. It also
allows the reader to really understand the many different influences affecting Truman at the time.
He goes on to introduce the different influential people that were involved in the creation and use
of the first atomic bomb. You have dedicated scientists like Oppenheimer who mostly pushed for
the use of the bomb just so they could see if their creation worked. These scientists worked around the clock to create such technology. The author also does a great job describing the tricky
relationship the US had with Russia at the time and how the ego of the US President could have influenced the decision. The author uses transcripts from the Potsdam Conference, White House meetings, eyewitness accounts of the Trinity test, notes, and letters from various officials at the time, personal diary entries from Truman, and personal accounts from the players involved and many more primary sources on the event. He amplifies the idea that fatigued from years of war with Japan, the American public was ready for an end to the war. "And for the "average American," this was a time of great consternation about what was to come next in a war that all wanted to be over." [1]
Wallace doesn’t forget to include the innocent victim’s point of view as well. With side stories about Hideko Tamura, a young Japanese girl who lived in Hiroshima, we can see the horror of nuclear war from the Japanese side. I feel that Wallace did a great job adding depth to the 116 days before the bomb was dropped and the reader walks away feeling as though the decision was not taken lightly nor was it an easy one. Wallace also does a great job explaining the death-defying acts that many of the pilots, technicians and scientists involved had to endure. In the end the reader is forced to ask serious questions and Wallace’s book allows the reader to decide.
[1]
Maj Gen John B. Handy, “Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World." Air Power History 68, no. 3 (2021): 56, https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GBIB&u=vic_liberty&id=GALE%7CA700952692&v=2.1&it=r
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