1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910790072703321

Autore

Miscamble Wilson D. <1954->

Titolo

The most controversial decision : Truman, the atomic bombs, and the defeat of Japan / / Wilson D. Miscamble [[electronic resource]]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2011

ISBN

1-107-21567-6

1-139-06284-0

1-283-11083-0

9786613110831

1-139-07501-2

0-511-97733-6

1-139-06924-1

1-139-07955-7

1-139-07727-9

1-139-08183-7

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xii, 174 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Collana

Cambridge essential histories

Classificazione

HIS036060

Disciplina

940.54/2521954

Soggetti

Atomic bomb - History

Atomic bomb - Moral and ethical aspects

Hiroshima-shi (Japan) History Bombardment, 1945 Moral and ethical aspects

Nagasaki-shi (Japan) History Bombardment, 1945 Moral and ethical aspects

United States Military policy Decision making

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction: the most controversial decision -- Franklin Roosevelt, the Manhattan Project, and the development of the atomic bomb -- Harry Truman, Henry Stimson, and atomic briefings -- James F. Byrnes, the atomic bomb, and the Pacific War -- The Potsdam Conference, the Trinity test, and 'atomic diplomacy' -- Hiroshima, the Japanese, and the Soviets -- The Japanese surrender -- Necessary, but was It right? -- Byrnes, the Soviets, and the American atomic monopoly -- The atomic



bomb and the origins of the Cold War.

Sommario/riassunto

This book explores the American use of atomic bombs and the role these weapons played in the defeat of the Japanese Empire in World War II. It focuses on President Harry S. Truman's decision-making regarding this most controversial of all his decisions. The book relies on notable archival research and the best and most recent scholarship on the subject to fashion an incisive overview that is fair and forceful in its judgments. This study addresses a subject that has been much debated among historians and it confronts head-on the highly disputed claim that the Truman administration practised 'atomic diplomacy'. The book goes beyond its central historical analysis to ask whether it was morally right for the United States to use these terrible weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It also provides a balanced evaluation of the relationship between atomic weapons and the origins of the Cold War.