Five Days in August: How World War II Became a Nuclear War

Michael D. Gordin presents an alternative account of how the atomic bomb influenced the end of World War II. While most Americans believe Japan surrendered because of the two atomic bombs dropped on it, Gordin argues that the military did not fully grasp the atomic bomb's strategic potential, that both the Allies and Japanese were largely surprised by the surrender and the attack respectively, and that military experts had planned for a third bomb while remaining uncertain whether the atomic bomb would function. Gordin's reexamination shifts how historians and the public understand the atomic bomb's role in ending the war. The book examines the lasting consequences of the atomic bomb and raises questions about its significance in World War II and the moral issues connected to both.