Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Finshed the book Hiroshima last night

If you have any interest in history or WWII at all I think you would enjoy the book Hiroshima. As I have stated previously the book is about six first-person survival stories of the bombing of Hiroshima. I learned quite a bit about the city of Hiroshima. What sticks with me most if the amount of rivers that surround the city (the book mentioned seven, there appear to be even more).

Mentioned in the book is a place you can visit today, Hiroshima Peace Memorial. The building in the center of the park is the closest building to the center of the blast left standing and it has been preserved almost exactly as it was since the day of the explosion. If I ever travel to Japan again I'll make sure to visit the memorial.

If you travel by plane or rail I'd say pick up a copy of this book. You should be able to complete the book during a round-trip flight of any measurable distance. It is a fast and easy read (i.e. NOT written in Faulkner's style) and very informative. It is an excellent work of non-fiction.

I had a book selected as my next textual conquest but I think I'll go for a "free-for-all" and just pick something at random. I brought a copy of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis into the office for those nice days where I can grab a lunch outside (you know, those days I should be walking at lunch?). The Screwtape Letters is another very small book, I should be able to finish this up in no time.

1 comment:

Mark Turner said...

Visiting Peace Park in Nagasaki was deeply moving. I went there when my ship made a port visit in 1989.

Looking at the pictures of all those kids who were scarred from the blast really made me mad. Nukes should be banned from the planet.