Hiroshima is the story of six people—a clerk, a widowed seamstress, a physician, a Methodist minister, a young surgeon, and a German Catholic priest—who lived through the greatest single manmade disaster in history. In vivid and indelible prose, Pulitzer Prize–winner John Hersey traces the stories of these half-dozen individuals from 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, when Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atomic bomb ever dropped on a city, through the hours and days that followed. Almost four decades after the original publication of this celebrated book, Hersey went back to Hiroshima in search of the people whose stories he had told, and his account of what he discovered is now the eloquent and moving final chapter of Hiroshima.
With the end of the Second World War, a new world was born. The peace agreements that brought the conflict to an end implemented decisions that not only shaped the second half of the twentieth century, but continue to affect our world today and impact on its future. In 1946 the Cold War began, the state of Israel was conceived, the independence of India was all but confirmed and Chinese Communists gained a decisive upper hand in their fight for power. It was a pivotal year in modern history in which countries were reborn and created, national and ideological boundaries were redrawn and people across the globe began to rebuild their lives. In this remarkable history, the foreign correspondent and historian Victor Sebestyen draws on contemporary documents from around the world - including Stalin's personal notes from the Potsdam peace conference - to examine what lay behind the political decision-making. Sebestyen uses a vast array of archival material and personal testimonies to explore how the lives of generations of people across continents were shaped by the events of 1946. Taking readers from Berlin to London, from Paris to Moscow, from Washington to Jerusalem and from Delhi to Shanghai, this is a vivid and wide-ranging account of both powerbrokers and ordinary men and women from an acclaimed author.
"Vietnam 1946 is a masterful narrative of the immediate origins of the first Vietnam War. It is, by turns, vivid and shocking; it is always immensely revealing. Tønnesson brings forensic clarity to crucial events about which, even now, some sixty years later, fundamental misapprehensions exist. An outstanding work of scholarship of major international importance."—Martin Thomas, author of Empires of Intelligence "Tønnesson captures brilliantly the 1946 confrontation between two republics: France determined to redeem itself from Axis humiliation by regaining Indochina; Vietnam equally determined to retake independence after eighty years of colonial servitude. Tønnesson also demonstrates, however, that some leaders on each side really wanted a peaceful, mutually beneficial outcome. Descent into full-scale war was not inevitable. This is a carefully researched, clearly written analysis of a vital moment in the 20th century history of both countries. It is also a meditation on the elusive boundary between free will and determinism in human affairs."—David Marr, author of Vietnamese Tradition on Trial, 1920-1945 “Stein Tønnesson's Vietnam 1946 answers the fundamental question about the first of Vietnam's 20th century wars, the one fought against the French: how did it happen? He has written a meticulously researched account which restores their contingency to the events. The first Indochina war, like those that succeeded it, was not inevitable and Tønnesson explains why and how it happened anyway.”—Marilyn Young, author of The Vietnam Wars 1945-1990
World War Three 1946 - Book One - The Red Tide - Stalin Strikes First - Illustrated, Revised and Annotated edition. An almost total re-write, including end notes that assist the reader down the path of a convincing, alternate history. An alternate history based on facts and logic. * On the border of West Germany; Stalin has 60 mechanized divisions, composed of the battle hardened veterans. * The US and Britain have demobilized their armies. * Britain is bankrupt and rationing bread. Its empire is crumbling and its colonies are in revolt. * Tens of thousands of USAAF and RAF planes have been dumped into the ocean, pushed into piles, crushed and left rotting in jungles around the world. * Gangs of deserters roam the European country side. * The US has entered a period of isolationism. * The people of Europe are starving. * The Germans are being brutally punished for their part in the war. * The Soviet Union has acquired the major secrets of every strategic weapons system that the West has developed since 1935, including the atomic bomb. They have prototypes of every major German Wonder Weapon system produced since 1943. * Greece, Italy and even France are in danger of turning Communist. * The US and Britain have large Communist parties with thousands of sympathizers * 90% of the industry in the US and Britain has been transformed from producing weapons, to consumer goods. * Europe is in chaos and Capitalism has failed in the eyes of many. These are facts, and this was the state of the world in May 1946. This alternate history proposes that this was the opportune time for Stalin to strike. This was his best chance of furthering the cause of Communism. This was his moment. The Red Tide is the first in this series of fictional books. Alternate history explores the great "what ifs" of time. This is one of those great what ifs. The ribbons of time start to unravel and diverge from ours in 1943. Slowly at first and then faster and faster until a fateful day in May 1946. The Soviets have stopped the production of the US atomic bomb by incapacitating the majority of the American program's scientists. This systematic crippling of the US atomic program convinces Stalin that the time is right to fulfill his deepest ambitions and once and for all rid Western Europe of Capitalism. We were able to obtain copies of many of the actual post war strategic plans of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. Many of the strategies proposed in these works, were developed from these actual plans, and would have been in effect for much of the 1946-1948 era. What if German designed jet fighters, jet bombers, rocket powered interceptors, super tanks, undetectable submarines, guided air to air and ground to air missiles were all in the hands of Joseph Stalin. The Wasserfall and the X4 missiles will sweep the skies clear. The V2 will strike without warning. A guided V1 will unerringly strike unsuspecting targets The Seehund will make the oceans unsafe once again. The Me 262, Me 163, He 162 and the AR 234 along with the Mig 9 and Yak 15 will duel with the Meteor and Shooting Star. Over 800,000 hits on the AlternativeHistory.com website. These books are not written in any traditional style but is a combination of historical facts, oral histories, third person and first person accounts. I was inspired by "The Good War": An Oral History of World War Two (1984 in literature-1984) by Studs Terkel and Cornelius Ryan's wonderful books "The Longest Day" and "A Bridge too Far." There is no hero or character development. The story is the story and not the characters. We hear from those who felt, saw, ran, lost and won as well as from officials and historians. The story is told using the techniques of reporters, oral historians, historians and politicians. Although told in a short stories, vignettes and in an episodic manner, the novel builds on what has gone before.
The Encyclopedia of Television, second edtion is the first major reference work to provide description, history, analysis, and information on more than 1100 subjects related to television in its international context. For a full list of entries, contributors, and more, visit the Encyclo pedia of Television, 2nd edition website.
The first place-by-place chronology of U.S. history, this book offers the student, researcher, or traveller a handy guide to find all the most important events that have occurred at any locality in the United States.
George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. In Why I Write, the first in the Orwell’s Essays series, Orwell describes his journey to becoming a writer, and his movement from writing poems to short stories to the essays, fiction and non-fiction we remember him for. He also discusses what he sees as the ‘four great motives for writing’ – ‘sheer egoism’, ‘aesthetic enthusiasm’, ‘historical impulse’ and ‘political purpose’ – and considers the importance of keeping these in balance. Why I Write is a unique opportunity to look into Orwell’s mind, and it grants the reader an entirely different vantage point from which to consider the rest of the great writer’s oeuvre. 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' — Irish Times
In 1946, approximately 40,000 U.S. military personnel participated in Operation CROSSROADS, an atmospheric nuclear test that took place at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Congress passed a law directing the Veterans Administration to determine whether there were any long-term adverse health effects associated with exposure to ionizing radiation from the detonation of nuclear devices. This book contains the results of an extensive epidemiological study of the mortality of participants compared with a similar group of nonparticipants. Topics of discussion include a breakdown of the study rationale; an overview of other studies of veteran participants in nuclear tests; and descriptions of Operation CROSSROADS, data sources for the study, participant and comparison cohorts, exposure details, mortality ascertainment, and findings and conclusions.
