Hiroshima (book) facts for kids

Hiroshima (ISBN: 0-679-72103-7) is a powerful magazine article written by Pulitzer Prize winner John Hersey. It first appeared in The New Yorker magazine in August 1946. This was exactly one year after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The article was so important that it was quickly turned into a book.

The book tells the story of how the bombing affected the lives of six ordinary people. It helps readers understand the human side of this terrible event.

Six Lives Changed by the Bomb

Hersey's book follows six individuals and describes what happened to them on that day and in the time afterward. Their stories show the immediate impact and the lasting effects of the atomic bomb.

Reverend Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto

Mr. Tanimoto was a Methodist minister. He had studied in the United States at Emory University. When the bomb hit, he was about 3,500 yards (or 3.2 kilometers) away from the center of the explosion. He was busy helping people and trying to survive the chaos.

Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura

Mrs. Nakamura was a seamstress and a war widow. She was a mother to three young children. Her home was about 1,350 yards (or 1.2 kilometers) from where the bomb exploded. She faced the challenge of protecting her children and finding safety.

Dr. Masakazu Fujii

Dr. Fujii was a successful doctor who owned his own private hospital. He was about 1,550 yards (or 1.4 kilometers) from the blast's center. His hospital was destroyed, and he had to find a way to survive and help others despite his own injuries.

Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge

Father Kleinsorge was a Jesuit priest working in Hiroshima. He was about 1,400 yards (or 1.3 kilometers) from the explosion. He later became a Japanese citizen and changed his name to Makoto Takakura. He helped many injured people after the bomb.

Dr. Terufumi Sasaki

Dr. Sasaki was a young doctor working at the Red Cross hospital. He was 1,650 yards (or 1.5 kilometers) from the center of the explosion. He was one of the few doctors who could still work after the bombing, and he treated countless injured people.

Miss Toshiko Sasaki

Miss Sasaki worked as a clerk at the East Asia Tin Works. She was about 1,600 yards (or 1.5 kilometers) from the blast. She was seriously injured when her office building collapsed. She later became a nun and was known as Sister Dominique Sasaki.

Images for kids

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  John Hersey, the author of Hiroshima.

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  Hatsuyo Nakamura, one of the six survivors in the book.