Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World (Chris Wallace's Countdown)

I have most of the books relating to the invention and use of the Atomic Bomb, including the exceptional Richard Rhodes 'the Making of the Atomic Bomb' book, which is unsurpassed in quality of the survey of the Manhattan Project. This book takes a refreshing and different approach, sketching the various stories of the people involved 'on the day' ranging from the children at Hiroshima caught in the blast, to the political leaders meeting to discuss post war Europe and the diversion of the military to the Japanese war theatre. The mark of a good book is whether you are gripped and enthralled - I was, as this sketches some 'new to me' information mainly about the non-scientific aspects of the bombing of Hiroshima - the point here is not whether the bombing was terrible, but whether the book is excellent. It is, and has proven to be an excellent buy.

Having read Richard Rhodes' seminal work on the Manhattan project and watched several excellent documentaries on TV, I was unsure whether this would provide enough new information or be sufficiently engaging for me. But it did and it was. It was a masterstroke to just focus on the 105 days before the dropping of the Hiroshima bomb and to recount the thoughts and experiences of all the players, from Truman to the physicists and engineers at Los Alamos, to the aircrews and their families. Above all it gives a fine account of the difficult decision facing the President, a subject still bitterly debated. I recommend this book especially to those who want an introduction to the history of the atomic bomb but holds the reader's attention like a thriller.

Great book well written and captures the imagination

Very concise and descriptive. It’s easy and enjoyable reading and describes the situation from many points of view. Fascinating period in history well written.

This book introduces you to the characters who played a major part in a moment of history leading up to the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan ending the war. The characters include President Truman through to a child in Hiroshima and includes the crew of the plane and the manufacturers of the bomb itself. It reads as a chronological narrative with a few historical sidetracks. It is written very well in plain simple English like the excellent journalist that Chris Wallace is. The subject matter is fascinating and unique in history. I thoroughly recommend the book to anyone wanting to learn about those times. I will be reading it again as soon as I get the book back from my father-in-law.

Although I am very familiar with this story reading many of the books and visiting all the important sites, I purchased this book primarily due to my admiration for Chris Wallace and his contributions. The authors have created a well written concise book that all can easily read. It reads like a spy-novel. This novel has real life people whose lives cascade with the events from FDR’s death to “ Fat Man” over Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. This effective and highly descriptive technique certifies and personifies the historical events of the period. The authors allow the reader to peer into these lives which is foreign to usual historical texts. After many years of questioning why the plutonium weapon was tested first at Trinity, I found my answer on page 125. Simple, they did not know it would work! Additionally, on the same page the authors corrected their mistake of where Alamogordo was 230 miles south of Los Alamos (not north as indicated on page 110). This defect in the text is illuminating in it possibly reveals the authors and or the editors have never been to the Manhattan Project Research Sites of Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, Hanford and Cannon AFB. I find that interesting. The book indirectly defends Truman’s decision to use the weapon. On page 82 it is stated the Japanese had 4 million soldiers coupled with several million armed civilians to resist a US invasion while the Americans had 2 million in the Pacific at this time. Siege warfare proscribes a 4 to one advantage when assaulting a hardened objective. This means the US would have needed at a minimum 30 million soldiers to neutralize the Japanese regarding a home island invasion. This is double the 14 million the US had under arms at that time! The book reveals the stubbornness of the Japanese to capitulate. The Giulio Douhet Theory of offensive bombing doctrine appears to fail during WW II in Europe and also in Japan even with these super weapons. As described in this text both sides were taken back by the power of the bombs. Little did the Japanese know the US only had two. However, Japanese scientists conveyed to the Emperor the US could produce more of the second weapon for it was created from reactor plutonium. The book’s index is very helpful along with the many timely and appropriate photos which supports this interesting story. This is one of the best written books I have read in years. If you do not know anything about this topic, you will understand the history.

一応、書きましたので…。ごめんなさい。

This well-written interesting historical event is thought provoquing and should be read by everyone.