Hiroshima

John Hersey's narrative nonfiction account documents what happened in Hiroshima during World War II through the experiences of survivors of the first atomic bomb ever dropped on a city. The book follows six people—a clerk, a widowed seamstress, a physician, a Methodist minister, a young surgeon, and a German Catholic priest—describing what they were doing at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, when Hiroshima was destroyed, then traces their lives hour by hour and day by day in the aftermath. Originally published in The New Yorker on August 31, 1946, the story generated widespread attention, with newspapers reprinting it domestically and internationally, and the American Broadcasting Company reading it over network radio. Decades after the original publication, Hersey returned to Hiroshima to locate the six survivors and document how their lives had unfolded. This updated account forms the final chapter of the book, describing the various ways they responded to the past and continued living their lives.