Dropping the Atom Bomb and the End of World War II in the Pacific

Great book in a great series. I really enjoyed this book as well as all the other books by bill o'reilly I have read. It is very interesting and a fast read that keeps your interest from start to finish.

I previously read "Killing The Rising Sun" so this book is a very vivid chronological supplement , detailing events leading to the development, deployment and justification for dropping the atomic bomb on Japan.

As always great work by Mr. O'Reilly. No matter what you may have read or learned about the decision to use and results of using this awful weapon I think there is a good chance you will learn something you did not know.

Bill O'Reilly did it again. I learn more history from his books than from any public school history book. Bill takes you there and allows you to be up front with history in the making. I pride myself in learing something new about historical subjects, to include WW2 and the Vietnam war, every day. It always amazes me how much information is never articulated by historians and left to disapate over time. I learn from history and governments do not. They keep making the same mistakes, over and over again.
I like to say that a herd of Elk has more sense than man. At least they learn and adapt, in order to survive. Man just keeps shooting himself in the foot, so to speak.

Walter Pytlewski, Vietnam war Vet

Read "Killing the Rising Sun" first and learned the history that was left out of my school books! Now I understand my parent's WWII service living experiences in army (dad) and factory (mom) wartime service and strong feelings about the enemy at that time. Never grasped the horrendous atrocities and bararism inflicted on various peoples by Japan during this period of world history. Very sobering and educational. Read the follow up historical summary of the development and ultimate deployment of the first nuclear weapons. I pray the world will learn from history and not repeat.

I have not yet read this, but bought it because I could not read the adult version due to the horrible atrocities perpetrated on our troops and the innocent people who were invaded. I want the details as I think it is important to learn what we have not been told, but couldn't keep reading through my tears. These Killing books are well worth the read because they are well researched and provide us with information and details we have never had before. Have read most of them...couldn't read Killing Jesus either because it is too painful for me. Have shared those books with others.

I'm reading this book now. I like the short chapters, and the well-written narratives. Also, there are numerous photos, so I get a "feel" for that period of time and the events that occurred. The book is not boring!!! I previously read O'Reilly's book Killing the Rising Sun and enjoyed it, too. This is a great book for all ages, starting from adolescents, who like to read about history, to the elderly, who, likewise, love reading about history, in particular, the United States' role in liberating so many people during WWII.

Liked everything about the book with one exception. That being giving the incorrect length of the U. S. S. Missouri. The Missouri was the largest of the " fast battleships". The U. S. S. North Carolina was the first of this new type of ship and was smaller than the Missouri. The North Carolina is nearly three "football fields" in length. Therefore, the Missouri had to be longer than the one "football field" in length! That should have been an easy editorial find. Other than this oversight, an excellent read.
Thanks, RCP, Jr.

I'm not sure I feel qualified to review this book. I'm not a great history buff. I try hard to research, and to educate myself on important aspects of America's history, and I read books like this one to that end. I want to honor the history and sacrifice by not being ignorant, or forgetting. But again, I don't consider myself to be an expert. However, as someone who HAS at least researched the topic, I found this book to be a very engaging read.

I have read none of the author's previous work, so I don't know if it's his usual MO, but the POV for this book was a present tense narrator. I struggled initially to get into the story, but found, by around 10%, that I was deeply engaged, and flying through the chapters. The chapters were very short, some of them only a paragraph long. This usually annoys me, but it was used to great effect in this book. Entire chunks of it flew by without my even realizing it. There were a few places I had to skim because of graphic descriptions. I try to not dishonor the reality of history by burying my head in the sand, but I did skim just a little, though the few places I had to were still vivid and well written.

As to the accuracy, I feel unqualified to make a thorough comment. The dropping of the atomic bombs is something I have researched on many occasions, and there were many facts in the book I already knew. There were also some I took the time to research independently as I read, and I found them all (at least the ones I researched) to be accurate as well. I do feel like the book gave me a much better overall perspective that I was previously lacking on the subject, and offered many tidbits of information I was interested in, and jotted down for later research.

My final assessment is that this book was worth the purchase price for me, and I am not sorry to have read it. I didn't expect it to grip me so well either, so that was a nice bonus. It was a surprisingly fast and enjoyable read.

THE DAY THE WORLD WENT NUCLEAR:DROPPING THE ATOM BOMB AND THE END OF WWII IN THE PACIFIC BY BILL O'REILLY takes a slice of history and gives us a minute account of the dropping of the bomb on Japan during WWII. I remember as a kid watching a show called You Are There, where they take an event in history and profile it. Bill O'Reilly has taken a slice of WWII and takes the reader back to the bloody Pacific war. O'Reilly shows the movements and the moments on both sides. We see MacArthur coming ashore in the Philippines & the Emperor of Japan, a living god to his people. We see the Japanese going about their daily lives not knowing the hell that awaits them. We see the Enola Gay, the plane that carries the bomb & the rest of history.

The dropping of the bomb on Japan during WWII has been a topic that is still debated in schools all over the country. Was Truman right to drop the bomb thus forcing the Japanese into surrender or should we have invaded Japan and lost thousands if not hundreds of thousands of American and allied troops That very question is asked of living Presidents as well at the end.

I have always enjoyed Mr. O'Reilly's history books. Being a history junkie or someone who wants to know a little bit more about WWII ,and the bomb ,you will as well.

The genesis of the atomic bomb and its historical significance are successfully meted out. Numerous pictures, maps, and testimonials prove to be quite effective; rendering a pragmatic view into yesteryear, (leading up to the eventual deployment of such deadly devices).

The authors did an outstanding job at fleshing out important nuggets of information for the reader to digest, or simply mull over.

I received this book as a gift and couldn't put it down. I was most impressed by Mr. O'Reilly's ability to treat the Japanese in World War II with dignity without losing sight of the atrocities they committed in World War II. I think it is a good style for younger readers so they do not become afflicted with the prejudices held about the Japanese as a people.
The writing is presented in a very interesting style while reporting actual facts. It is an excellent summary of the war in the Pacific and the leaders involved on both sides as well as an accurate summary of the development of the atomic bomb. I liked his descriptions of General MacArthur which seem to be pretty accurate without actually disparaging the man. The same is true for emporer Hirahito.

I am a history buff and college professor. This book is not history it fits a template where some grad students are asked to write a bit of detail about well known incidents then the author takes this about ten steps forward to provide what the casual reader thinks is a knowledgeable work. It takes a lot of imagination to believe this is history with the possible exception of the initial research to build the bomb. Books like this are why we have so many "historians" who don't know what they are talking about.