"New York Times bestselling author Lesley M.M. Blume reveals how a courageous reporter uncovered one of greatest and deadliest cover-ups of the 20th century-the true effects of the atom bomb-potentially saving millions of lives"-- Provided by publisher.
Just days after the United States decimated Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear bombs, the Japanese surrendered unconditionally. But the US government and military had begun a secret propaganda and information suppression campaign to hide the devastating nature of these experimental weapons. Occupation forces closed the atomic cities to Allied reporters, preventing leaks about the horrific long-term effects of radiation which would kill thousands during the months after the blast. For nearly a year the cover-up worked-- until New Yorker journalist John Hersey got into Hiroshima and managed to report the truth to the world. Blume shares this piece of hidden history, and shows how this knowledge has remained among the greatest deterrents to using nuclear weapons since the end of World War II. -- adapted from jacket
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