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Fallout

The Hiroshima Cover-Up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World

by Lesley Blume

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2020
ONE OF VANITY FAIR'S BEST BOOKS OF 2020

New York Times bestselling author Lesley Blume reveals how a courageous reporter uncovered one of the greatest and deadliest cover-ups of the 20th century - the true effects of the atom bomb - potentially saving millions of lives.

In the days following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered unconditionally. But even before the surrender, the US had begun a secret propaganda campaign to celebrate these weapons as the ultimate peacekeepers - hiding the true extent and nature of their devastation. The cover-up intensified as Americans closed the atomic cities to Allied reporters, preventing information from leaking about the horrific and lasting effects of radiation that would kill thousands of people during the months after the blast. For nearly a year, the cover-up worked - until New Yorker journalist John Hersey got into Hiroshima and reported the truth to the world.

As Hersey and his editors prepared his article for publication, they kept the whistleblowing story secret - even from most of their New Yorker colleagues. When the magazine published 'Hiroshima' in August 1946, it became an instant global sensation, and inspired pervasive horror about the weapons that had been covertly waged in America's name. Since 1945, no nuclear weapons have ever been deployed in war, partly because Hersey alerted the world to their true, devastating impact. This knowledge has remained among the greatest deterrents to using them since the end of World War II.

Released on the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, Fallout is an engrossing detective story, as well as an important piece of hidden history, which shows how one heroic scoop saved - and can still save - the world.



'Blume is a tireless researcher and beautiful writer, who moves through her narrative with seeming effortlessness - a trick that belies the skill and hard labour required to produce such prose ... Fallout is a warning without being a polemic ... a book of serious intent that is nonetheless pleasant to read. There are knowable reasons for this, including Blume's flawless paragraphs; her clear narrative structure; her compelling stories, subplots and insights.'
-William Langewiesche, The New York Times

'Lesley Blume brings a reportorial mastery worthy of her subject, compellingly told on every page. Here, finally discovered, is the dramatic story of how John Hersey produced what is widely regarded as the greatest piece of American journalism of the 20th century.'
-Carl Bernstein, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, co-author of All the President's Men, and author of A Woman in Charge
' A cliff-hanging saga of an intrepid young newsman outplaying his own government to get the facts.'
-The Wall Street Journal
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MILITARY HISTORY
HISTORY

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Pages:

288

Published:

4 Aug 2020

Format

Paperback

Publisher

Scribe Publications

ISBN:

9781925713930

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2020
ONE OF VANITY FAIR'S BEST BOOKS OF 2020

New York Times bestselling author Lesley Blume reveals how a courageous reporter uncovered one of the greatest and deadliest cover-ups of the 20th century - the true effects of the atom bomb - potentially saving millions of lives.

In the days following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered unconditionally. But even before the surrender, the US had begun a secret propaganda campaign to celebrate these weapons as the ultimate peacekeepers - hiding the true extent and nature of their devastation. The cover-up intensified as Americans closed the atomic cities to Allied reporters, preventing information from leaking about the horrific and lasting effects of radiation that would kill thousands of people during the months after the blast. For nearly a year, the cover-up worked - until New Yorker journalist John Hersey got into Hiroshima and reported the truth to the world.

As Hersey and his editors prepared his article for publication, they kept the whistleblowing story secret - even from most of their New Yorker colleagues. When the magazine published 'Hiroshima' in August 1946, it became an instant global sensation, and inspired pervasive horror about the weapons that had been covertly waged in America's name. Since 1945, no nuclear weapons have ever been deployed in war, partly because Hersey alerted the world to their true, devastating impact. This knowledge has remained among the greatest deterrents to using them since the end of World War II.

Released on the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, Fallout is an engrossing detective story, as well as an important piece of hidden history, which shows how one heroic scoop saved - and can still save - the world.

'Blume is a tireless researcher and beautiful writer, who moves through her narrative with seeming effortlessness - a trick that belies the skill and hard labour required to produce such prose ... Fallout is a warning without being a polemic ... a book of serious intent that is nonetheless pleasant to read. There are knowable reasons for this, including Blume's flawless paragraphs; her clear narrative structure; her compelling stories, subplots and insights.'
-William Langewiesche, The New York Times

'Lesley Blume brings a reportorial mastery worthy of her subject, compellingly told on every page. Here, finally discovered, is the dramatic story of how John Hersey produced what is widely regarded as the greatest piece of American journalism of the 20th century.'
-Carl Bernstein, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, co-author of All the President's Men, and author of A Woman in Charge

' A cliff-hanging saga of an intrepid young newsman outplaying his own government to get the facts.'
-The Wall Street Journal
$40.00