World War 2 Essays (2374 words) - Aftermath Of World War II, Japan

World War 2 1.1 HARRY S. TRUMAN & THE BOMB A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY 1.2 Robert H. Ferrell editor with commentary 1.3 High Plains Publishing Company, Inc. 1.4 1996 1.5 Chapters: 21, Pages: 125 2.1 The title fits the story line because the story is about Truman's decision on dropping the atomic bomb. This is a non-fiction book that includes diary entries, letters, White House press releases, and handwritten notes by Truman. These documents are from 1945-1958 and are all related in the decision to drop the atomic bomb. 2.2 The author's points are that Truman used all available sources to help him make the decision of dropping the bomb (military advisors, scientists, what he saw in Germany) and he believed that dropping the atomic bomb saved lives. 2.3 Yes, I accept the author's thesis. I believe Truman used all his resources. For example he checked with the military for how many people would die if America would invade Japan. When Truman went to Berlin he saw total destruction and in his diary called it Hitler's folly. By using the casualty rates at Iwo Jima and Okinawa military experts estimated 500,000 American casualties if an invasion on the home island took place. This is much greater than the number of people killed by the atomic bomb. 3.1 The author is writing to Americans. 3.2 The author investigates if America was justified for dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. The author looks at the documents of the time period (diaries, letters, and memos), examines how the Japanese treated prisoners and conquered people, and looks at battle casualty rates. 3.3 The author is pro-American. When he wrote the intro he includes statements against the Japanese such as, The barbarities of the war had their beginnings in Japan's war against China?Between 100,000 to 200,000 people were killed by occupying troops for no reason at all except what may only be described as blood lust.(Pg1) Throughout the intro the author uses words such as countless horrors, sneak attack, maltreatment, and savagery to describe the Japanese and their behavior. 4.1 Robert H. Ferrell is Distinguished Professor of History, Emeritus Indiana University. Other books the author wrote include The Private Papers of Harry S. Truman, Truman and the Modern American Presidency, and Harry S. Truman His Life on the Family Farms. 4.2 The book was written in 1996, using documents from the 1940s and 1950s. The author had plenty of access to the primary information. He wrote it 50 years after the event happened making him more objective than someone from the time period. 4.3 None, I all ready agree that Truman should have dropped the bomb because I believe that it saved more lives. 4.4 I would not recommend this book for pleasure reading because HARRY S. TRUMAN & THE BOMB is made up of facts (letters, memos, documents, and diaries). I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know about why America dropped the atomic bomb. 5.1 The book covers from 1945 to 1958. 5.2 The action takes place all over the world mostly in the White House in Washington, D.C, the Potsdam Conference near Berlin, Germany, the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico, and Japan. The setting is during World War II and soon after the war. 5.3 The author is a realist. In the book he talks about how if America did not drop the atomic bomb on Japan and used invasion that more men would die. Truman and leading officials of his administration looked upon nuclear warfare as a positive good rather than terrible savagery, there was the very real issue in the summer of 1945 of the cost of a U.S. invasion of the Japanese home islands. Whatever the historical - one might describe as emotional - reasons for ?getting back' at Japan, there was the frightening cost of an invasion by the U. S. Army and Navy (pg. 3). 5.4 I think the structure of this book is chronological because of how the author put his chapters in order from 1945-1958. 6.1 The most notable thing that I liked was that after the war ended we helped Japan get back on there feet. Truman wrote, And in spite of the shot in the back, this country of ours, the United States of America, has been willing to