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The Target Committee Audiobook by Paul Ham
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Title: The Target Committee
Author: Paul Ham
Narrator: Andrew Martin
Format: Unabridged
Length: 1 hr and 56 mins
Language: English
Release date: 07-22-15
Publisher: Audible Studios
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 16 votes
Genres: History, World
Publisher's Summary:
How did America choose the targets for the atomic bomb? What made Hiroshima preferable over Kyoto or Tokyo? Critical to the mission to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a series of meetings set up in mid-1945 and comprising Americas most powerful military, political and scientific chiefs. The committeemen would decide where and how the first nuclear weapons would be used in anger.
In this absorbing and provocative narrative, historian Paul Ham shines a torch on their arguments to reveal the thinking behind the atomic destruction of two cities - and how the Target Committee justified it at the time.
Paul Ham has spent the past 16 years writing 20th-century military, political and diplomatic history. He has written five critically acclaimed books: 1914: The Year The World Ended, Sandakan, Hiroshima Nagasaki, Kokoda and Vietnam: The Australian War.
Two have inspired ABC documentaries, which he cowrote and/or narrated. Ham is a former foreign correspondent for The London Sunday Times.
He has a master's degree in economic history from the London School of Economics and lives in Sydney and Paris.
Members Reviews:
A "should have" for readers wanting to know the full history of World War II
Considering that only two cities in the world have known the effects of nuclear weapons, how these cities were chosen as targets makes up a rather vital piece of history. This book gives the reader a rather quick review of the members, including brief bios, of the "target committee" and the chronology of the selection process leading up to the dropping of the two bombs on Japan. It even touches upon the fact that several scientists who helped create the bomb stated that they made their contributions believing that Germany would be the target, and therefore were moderately vocal about any consideration of Japanese targets. The book should perhaps be sub-titled as "an examination of the pros and cons of whether the bomb ever should have been used and whether the MacArthur-planned invasion was at all necessary." Politics within the Truman Executive Department are also touched upon, especially how the Secretary of War tried to put his personal opinion on the decision-process of the committee, and how ineffective he had become by mid-1945. Those who have made a "hobby" of learning about the various aspects of the world's nuclear arsenal, from fundamental physics right up to the current serious environmental problems related to nuclear energy, should definitely add "The Target Committee" to their reading list.
an Unthinkable Decision
Over the years I have often said "I am truly glad I didn't have to make that decision." This short book clearly explained the logic of a mixed group of scientists and political leaders. The conclusion, as I read it, was that Japan was about to fold anyway and use of the bombs was probably not necessary. What a sobering thought !
It's a teaser for a full story
The author is very knowledgeable. He has a good command of facts and events. But the narrative is sketchy and incomplete. It's cliff notes for his books that he advertises at the end.
Opinionated
While there was some interesting material in this book, it was obvious from the Git go that the author had an agenda. My father was on Okinawa when the bomb was dropped. He was slated to take part in the invasion. I am sure he would humbly disagree with the author.
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Title: The Target Committee
Author: Paul Ham
Narrator: Andrew Martin
Format: Unabridged
Length: 1 hr and 56 mins
Language: English
Release date: 07-22-15
Publisher: Audible Studios
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 16 votes
Genres: History, World
Publisher's Summary:
How did America choose the targets for the atomic bomb? What made Hiroshima preferable over Kyoto or Tokyo? Critical to the mission to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a series of meetings set up in mid-1945 and comprising Americas most powerful military, political and scientific chiefs. The committeemen would decide where and how the first nuclear weapons would be used in anger.
In this absorbing and provocative narrative, historian Paul Ham shines a torch on their arguments to reveal the thinking behind the atomic destruction of two cities - and how the Target Committee justified it at the time.
Paul Ham has spent the past 16 years writing 20th-century military, political and diplomatic history. He has written five critically acclaimed books: 1914: The Year The World Ended, Sandakan, Hiroshima Nagasaki, Kokoda and Vietnam: The Australian War.
Two have inspired ABC documentaries, which he cowrote and/or narrated. Ham is a former foreign correspondent for The London Sunday Times.
He has a master's degree in economic history from the London School of Economics and lives in Sydney and Paris.
Members Reviews:
A "should have" for readers wanting to know the full history of World War II
Considering that only two cities in the world have known the effects of nuclear weapons, how these cities were chosen as targets makes up a rather vital piece of history. This book gives the reader a rather quick review of the members, including brief bios, of the "target committee" and the chronology of the selection process leading up to the dropping of the two bombs on Japan. It even touches upon the fact that several scientists who helped create the bomb stated that they made their contributions believing that Germany would be the target, and therefore were moderately vocal about any consideration of Japanese targets. The book should perhaps be sub-titled as "an examination of the pros and cons of whether the bomb ever should have been used and whether the MacArthur-planned invasion was at all necessary." Politics within the Truman Executive Department are also touched upon, especially how the Secretary of War tried to put his personal opinion on the decision-process of the committee, and how ineffective he had become by mid-1945. Those who have made a "hobby" of learning about the various aspects of the world's nuclear arsenal, from fundamental physics right up to the current serious environmental problems related to nuclear energy, should definitely add "The Target Committee" to their reading list.
an Unthinkable Decision
Over the years I have often said "I am truly glad I didn't have to make that decision." This short book clearly explained the logic of a mixed group of scientists and political leaders. The conclusion, as I read it, was that Japan was about to fold anyway and use of the bombs was probably not necessary. What a sobering thought !
It's a teaser for a full story
The author is very knowledgeable. He has a good command of facts and events. But the narrative is sketchy and incomplete. It's cliff notes for his books that he advertises at the end.
Opinionated
While there was some interesting material in this book, it was obvious from the Git go that the author had an agenda. My father was on Okinawa when the bomb was dropped. He was slated to take part in the invasion. I am sure he would humbly disagree with the author.