Hiroshima in America: Fifty Years of Denial

New York: Grossett/Putnam,, 1995. First Edition, First Printing. Cloth. Near fine/fine. A very near fine first edition, first printing in a fine dust jacket. Two dust prints to top edge. Black boards, red endpapers. 425 pp. including index. Octavo. This book was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. It is a profound and elegant response to the official public spectacle of the aborted attempt to mount a commemorative exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute.The events surroundlng that attempt are recounted in the book. Both of the authors were personally involved in the process.The initial plan was to present as objective an account as possible of the bombing. The response to this initial plan, orchestrated by the American Legion and right-wing Congresslonal and media figures, dramatically demonstrated the strength of the national belief system, with its refusal to acknowledge historical realities which might promote guilt or anxiety, held by so many of the people of this country in connection with Hiroshima. As the authors say, the lesson they learned from the Smithsonian travesty is that: "Americans continue to treat Hiroshima, above all else, as a threat to our national self-image."The book, although co-authored, Is written in the characteristic style of Robert J. Lifton, one of America's leading psychohistorlans. It is well written, thoroughly documented, clear, and comprehensive. Lifton, as he has done consistently in his psychoistorical worics, is able to write with passion appropriate to the poweful emotions engendered by his subject matter." -- David Lotto. The Journal of Psychohistory; New York Vol. 25, Iss. 3, (Winter 1998)