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Title: Hiroshima in History and Memory by Michael J. Hogan ISBN: 0-521-56682-7 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 29 March, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)
Rating: 5
Summary: Public Memory V Private Memory
Comment: An essential feature of any historical work is the selection ofsources one wishes to present as an argument. The role of memory and access to history, that is public access to 'other' histories, is an area of much contention in the contemporary world. What I most enjoyed about this book is the authors have not shied away from commenting on earlier critiques of the proposed Smithsonian display, involving the restored fuselage of the Enola Gay. What was shameful about the ensuing debacle, I believe, was the attempt to discredit the further development of an alternate memory given 50 years had passed since the atomisation of Hiroshima. After all, was it not possible to show an American and Japanese view of the closing months of the Pacific War, regardless of who the victor was? It is critical to understand that Australians, let alone Japanese, cut a different slant on the way we interpret history, particularly that of Pacific War history. I believe we are richer for the experience.
But, of course, an alternate memory has developed, yet it is often dismissed by the euphemistic expression, 'historical revisionism'. This appears to be some sort of code for 'this sort of history is not acceptable to the conservative elements in contemporary American society, certainly much less to those who actually witnessed combat in the Pacific'. By virtue of fact, it has no legitimate place among orthodox histories. All history is subject to revision, for the simple reason new facts become available and each generation chooses to impose it's own standards. This is certainly the case with Hiroshima. But this shouldn't be construed as 'wrong' or a 'threat', rather it adds to the debate and formation of ideas which underpin the importance of Hiroshima and historiography. Context retains an essential place.
However, for those of you interested in the importance of historicity, of debate, and value the idea of an education as opposed to acccess to information, I cannot recommend this book enough. It has it all. Needless to say Hiroshima touches a raw nerve both in Japan and America. It also has much currency in Australia. So I do not in any way set out to discredit the efforts of those men and women who gave their services to the state during WW2. I do, however, recommend that prospective readers keep an open mind and try avoid getting caught up in the limited rhetoric of the conservative right and the emotional left.
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Title: Hiroshima by John Hersey ISBN: 0679721037 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 04 March, 1989 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War by John W. Dower ISBN: 0394751728 Publisher: Pantheon Books Pub. Date: 12 February, 1987 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Hiroshima in America: A Half Century of Denial by Robert Jay Lifton, Greg Mitchell ISBN: 0380727641 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: August, 1996 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Rain of Ruin: A Photographic History of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Donald K. Goldstein, J. Michael Wenger, Katherine V. Dillon, Donald M. Goldstein ISBN: 157488221X Publisher: Brasseys, Inc. Pub. Date: November, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb by Ronald Takaki ISBN: 0316831247 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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