Fallout

The Hiroshima Cover-up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World

By: Lesley M.M. Blume

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

ONE of THE NEW YORK TIMES'S 100 NOTABLE BOOKS of the YEAR * A VANITY FAIR and TOWN & COUNTRY BEST BOOK of the YEAR *

New York Times bestselling author Lesley M.M. Blume reveals how one courageous American reporter uncovered one of the deadliest cover-ups of the 20th century—the true effects of the atom bomb—potentially saving millions of lives.

Just days after the United States decimated Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear bombs, the Japanese surrendered unconditionally. But even before the surrender, the US government and military had begun a secret propaganda and information suppression campaign to hide the devastating effects of these then-experimental weapons. 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. When the magazine published “Hiroshima” in August 1946, it became an instant global sensation, and inspired pervasive horror about the hellish new threat that America had unleashed.

Since 1945, no nuclear weapons have ever been deployed in war partly because Hersey alerted the world to their true, devastating impact. This knowledge has remained among the greatest deterrents to using them since the end of World War II.

Released on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, Fallout is an engrossing detective story, as well as an important piece of hidden history that shows how one heroic scoop saved—and can still save—the world.

Excellent book, chilling details of Hiroshima

I thought this an excellent recap of the telling of the true affects on the Hiroshima people, the attempted cover ups and how important true journalism is the and most certainly now!

Captivating story

A well-narrated timeless story which certainly resonates today given the climate of attacks on press freedom, transparency and facts. Powerful epilogue.

The story behind the story

Though I read Hiroshima 50 years -after its writing I certainly will not forget it. Fallout is a wonderful companion to illustrate the extraordinary lengths taken to research write & publish the piece and the impact it made in so many ways.

Riveting read

This gifted reporter does great justice in sharing the story of the landmark story that sent its own shock waves around the world. Blume not only reinvigorates a masterpiece but highlights the government’s shameful coverup by her own investigation. Fallout should be required high school reading for even the small chance that it would inspire future journalists to want to follow in Hersey’s and Blume’s honorable paths.

First-rate in every respect!

There are books I would suggest that are best, or at least as well, listened to as read. The narration here is superb, the substance readily grasped, and the subject matter both riveting and important. I could not recommend this book more highly.