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Comment by burlesona | Hacker News Reader

Since the comments are already filling with simplistic takes on the bombings, I would encourage anyone who is interested in a substantive discourse to listen to Dan Carlin’s excellent Hardcore History discussion on this topic[1].

I also recommend the book “The Story of World War 2” as likely the best single book to understand the tragedy and complexity of the war, as well as what the Allies fought for and against[2].

Let us hope humanity never fights such a war again.

1. https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-42-blitz-...

2. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Story_of_World_War_...

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If you want an even more deep, first hand account of what happened contemporary to the time I suggest this:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/08/31/hiroshima

My first hand accounts mostly come from my Father. He was a young Marine Corp officer on Okinawa during World War II. What a sad and terrifying time. He was stationed next to an air base on Okinawa and was issued a gas mask after the bombing of Hiroshima in preparation for the retalitory strikes they expected.

After Japan surrendered, there was a sudden shift in roles as the soldiers packed up and prepared to return the the USA. At one point, with little to do, he was offered a ride on a plane that was heading over to the mainland of Japan for some reason. He got to see Hiroshima and Tokyo, spending some time on the ground and interacting with a few Japanese citizens there. My father passed away a couple of years ago and I wish that my brother and I could have recorded his accounts of some of these things.

Another great book (by an American but from the Japanese perspective) is The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 by John Toland. One of the books referenced by Dan in his podcast and contains many first hand accounts of Japanese soldiers, citizens, and leadership.

Much more nuanced account of the history and mindset that lead to the war and sustained it than most of the responses here would indicate.

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