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Takashi Nagai (1908–1951)

Autor(a) de The Bells of Nagasaki

10+ Works 161 Membros 10 Reviews 2 Favorited

About the Author

Obras de Takashi Nagai

Associated Works

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Data de nascimento
1908
Data de falecimento
1951
Sexo
male
Nacionalidade
Japan
Locais de residência
Nagasaki, Japan
Ocupação
Professor of Radiology,
Organizações
Roman Catholic Church

Membros

Resenhas

The book consists of heart-wrenching, honestly-told stories by survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, most of whom were Catholic, most of whom were related to the author, Takashi Nagai.
 
Marcado
SaintSunniva | 1 outra resenha | Apr 28, 2016 |
Thanks to lilisin for the review and recommendation. I was intrigued by what she wrote and was happy to see my library has it. And now.......this may be one of my all time top favorites. Weird to think a description of experiencing an atomic bomb could be a fav, but there it is. There is a brief introduction about what was happening with political leaders at the time, the decision making involved, to set the scene. The book itself is an insider's story about the experience. There are the descriptions of the specific physical occurrences as well as the psychological ones: seeing the country you love defeated, addressing feeling and desires for revenge and moving beyond that. The focus ends on the meaning of the event for the whole world rather than just those who experienced it. The author was an amazing person who saw the importance of documenting the results with a scientific eye for the benefit of the medical world, as well as the religious implications. There were a couple of pages addressing religion, from a perspective I don't share, but that seemed to be helpful for them. I wish this was required reading for high schoolers and would love to have used it for my college classes.… (mais)
1 vote
Marcado
mkboylan | outras 6 resenhas | Mar 27, 2013 |
This little book certainly is a hard one to find. I've spent nearly a decade trying to find it in regular bookstores every since I first heard of it but since it's no longer in production and it costs a small fortune online, I had simply to be persistent. When it showed up at Half-Priced Books in January I knew it was finally meant to be and quickly snatched it up. Perhaps I could have found it in a library but as I never walk into those I'm glad I finally found it.

"The Bells of Nagasaki" is one of the top books to read about the atomic bombings in Japan. It is written by Takashi Nagai, a doctor at the University of Medicine in Nagasaki, as he describes the pre-, during, and post- events of the August 9th bombing. Although I've read a few atomic bombing books and have been both to the peace museum in Hiroshima and the peace museum in Nagasaki, this is one of the books one must read. Nagai became one of the big influences in Japan on promoting world peace and due to his direct involvement with the atomic blast, was a huge leader in investigating the medicine associated with radiation sickness.

The book is a quick read as it starts with a great introduction from William Johnston of Sophia University. Then Nagai starts with what different citizens were doing at the time of blast and their location from the epicenter. This is followed by the chapters "The Bomb", "Immediately After" and "Relief". What has always amazed me in previous readings of bomb related books has been how inspiring it was to read about those who didn't just fall straight into despair upon realizing their fate. Seeing how the doctors, after a brief understandable moment of panic, quickly came back to their feet to not only get out of their own difficult situations but to help the many wounded around them was inspiring. Quickly they gathered any utensils that survived, formed groups of surviving nurses and doctors and went on to create relief centers to aid the wounded despite their own ailments.

Nagai goes on to describe the theory behind the creation of the atomic bomb and changes the scenery from the torn apart Nagasaki to the hills beyond the city, Mitsuyama. Here we are greeted with once again green hills, thriving plants, blue skies and a gorgeous summer air. If it weren't for the wounded who had flocked from the city, there would have been no hint of the bombing. This juxtaposition was quite amazing and something I hadn't seen in other books.

The rest of the book deals with Nagai describing the symptoms and medicine involved with the different atomic bombing sicknesses ranging from lowest to greatest severity. At the time, I'm sure this was a treasure-trove of information. Months later as Nagai deals with his own ailments we admirably discover that he does not feel that the bomb was a means of punishment from God. (Nagai was deeply religious). Instead he feels that Nagasaki was God's great sacrifice to promote world peace and to prevent a future destructive atomic age.

Even now Nagai's name is synonymous with the efforts for the promotion of world peace as can be seen throughout the city of Nagasaki. I'm glad to have finally read this book.
… (mais)
11 vote
Marcado
lilisin | outras 6 resenhas | Mar 8, 2013 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
10
Also by
1
Membros
161
Popularidade
#131,051
Avaliação
½ 4.4
Resenhas
10
ISBNs
10
Idiomas
3
Favorito
2

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