Hiroshima audiobook cover - The Stories of Six Survivors of the Atomic Bomb

Hiroshima

The Stories of Six Survivors of the Atomic Bomb

John Hersey

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Hiroshima
Context & Significance+
The Blast (Aug 6, 1945)+
Immediate Aftermath+
Aftereffects+
Rebuilding & Later Lives+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 9
How did John Hersey's book 'Hiroshima' significantly influence the field of journalism?
  • A. It was the first book to exclusively use photographs to tell a news story.
  • B. It helped pave the way for the New Journalism school by using novelistic techniques to tell real-life stories.
  • C. It established the standard of strictly objective, data-driven reporting without emotional narratives.
  • D. It was the first journalistic piece to be published anonymously in the New Yorker.
Question 2 of 9
According to the text, what was the primary reason the six featured individuals survived the initial atomic blast?
  • A. They had received advanced warning from the military and evacuated to underground bunkers.
  • B. They were all wearing protective clothing that deflected the intense heat of the bomb.
  • C. Chance movements and their specific physical positioning at exactly 8:15 a.m. spared their lives.
  • D. They were all stationed in a specially reinforced concrete building on the outskirts of the city.
Question 3 of 9
What chilling phenomenon did Mr. Tanimoto observe regarding the burn marks on some of the fleeing survivors?
  • A. The burns were shaped like flowers because the white color on their kimonos had repelled the heat.
  • B. The burns were completely painless due to the immediate nerve damage caused by radiation.
  • C. The burns only affected the left side of their bodies, indicating the exact direction of the blast.
  • D. The burns glowed faintly in the dark, which scientists later realized was a sign of radiation.
Question 4 of 9
What unexpected action did Mr. Fukai, the mission secretary, take after Father Kleinsorge carried him away from the destruction?
  • A. He immediately began treating the wounded despite having no medical training.
  • B. He ran manically back into the spreading flames after Father Kleinsorge had to put him down.
  • C. He dove into the river and attempted to swim out to a rumored hospital ship.
  • D. He aggressively demanded that the priests hand over the suitcase full of money.
Question 5 of 9
In the immediate aftermath of the bombing, how did many people in Hiroshima attempt to explain the massive explosion?
  • A. They believed a massive earthquake had triggered secondary explosions in the city's gas lines.
  • B. They speculated that the Americans had sprayed magnesium powder over the city's power lines.
  • C. They assumed the Japanese military had accidentally detonated a secret weapons cache.
  • D. They thought a fleet of hundreds of B-29 bombers had dropped conventional incendiary bombs simultaneously.
Question 6 of 9
What eerie surprise awaited Miss Sasaki when she was finally able to look out at the ruined city weeks after the bombing?
  • A. The ruins were completely buried under a thick layer of white ash that resembled snow.
  • B. All the rivers and waterways had completely dried up due to the intense heat of the blast.
  • C. A vivid blanket of green weeds and brightly colored flowers had rapidly overgrown the ruins.
  • D. Thousands of wild animals had migrated into the city center to scavenge among the debris.
Question 7 of 9
Which of the following describes the symptoms of radiation sickness experienced by the survivors weeks after the bombing?
  • A. Sudden, total blindness that lasted for several days before slowly resolving.
  • B. Unexplained euphoria and bursts of manic energy followed by deep sleep.
  • C. Hair loss, small hemorrhages all over the skin, and previously minor cuts suddenly opening and becoming inflamed.
  • D. A permanent loss of the ability to taste or smell food and water.
Question 8 of 9
How did Mrs. Nakamura's attitude toward her post-war life contrast with that of Mr. Tanimoto?
  • A. She became a politically animated spokesperson, while he retreated into complete isolation.
  • B. She adopted a stoic attitude of 'Shikata ga nai' (It can't be helped) and lived quietly, while he became highly active in fundraising and politics.
  • C. She blamed the Japanese government for the war, while he blamed the American military.
  • D. She used her experience to build a wealthy business empire, while he took a vow of poverty.
Question 9 of 9
What astonishing and insensitive television encounter did Mr. Tanimoto experience in 1955?
  • A. He was forced to debate an American general who claimed the bombing was entirely justified.
  • B. He was featured on 'This Is Your Life' and introduced to a drunk Captain Robert Lewis, one of the pilots who dropped the bomb.
  • C. He was interviewed by a comedy program that made light of the radiation sickness suffered by the hibakusha.
  • D. He was ambushed on a news broadcast by scientists who denied that radiation caused long-term health effects.

Hiroshima — Full Chapter Overview

Hiroshima Summary & Overview

Hiroshima (1946 and 1985) is journalist John Hersey’s classic account of six survivors of the 1945 atom bomb attack on Japan. Amid the wreckage, these six lived to offer their accounts of the devastating experience.

Who Should Listen to Hiroshima?

  • History devotees
  • Character-driven non-fiction (or fiction) enthusiasts
  • Budding journalists

About the Author: John Hersey

John Hersey, an American journalist, was born in China in 1914 and lived in the US from 1925. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his first novel, A Bell for Adano, in 1945, but Hiroshima was his biggest success. He mostly concentrated on writing fiction, alongside teaching at Yale, his alma mater.

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