As an active WWII bombardier returning from the end of the war in Europe and preparing for combat in Japan, Howard Zinn read the headline "Atomic Bomb Dropped on Japan" and was glad-- the war would be over. "Like other Americans," writes Zinn, "I had no idea what was going on at the higher levels, and had no idea what that 'atomic bomb' had done to men, women, children in Hiroshima, any more than I ever really understood what the bombs I dropped on European cities were doing to human flesh and blood." During the war, Zinn had taken part in the aerial bombing of Royan, France, and in 1966, he went to Hiroshima, where he was invited to a "house of rest" where survivors of the bombing gathered. In this short and powerful book, the backstory of the making and use of the bomb, Zinn offers his deep personal reflections and political analysis of these events, and the profound influence they had in transforming him from an order-taking combat soldier to one of the greatest living anti-authoritarian, anti-war historians writing today. Zinn's committed lifetime of teaching and writing is based in the belief that only by embracing the truth of history can ordinary people, rethinking their roles, find the possibility for redemption and change. Publication in August 2010 commemorates the 65th anniversary of the USA's two atomic bombings of Japan. "Zinn is one of the most responsible, lively, and brave commentators on U. S. history now living."-Viggo Mortensen, O Magazine
