Tag: truman

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#BookReview: The Most Awful Responsibility by Alex Wellerstein

Reasonably Well Documented Book Will Force You To Rethink All You Think You Know Of The Post-WWII Era. This is one of those rare history books that actively goes in to not just point out something most people missed about an era and/ or a person, but also goes to show the reader that a lot of what you thought you knew… may not have happened quite the way you think it did.

For example, one of the main points of the early part of the text: You think President Truman ordered the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That was what most textbooks (at least in America) teach, at least lower than say upperclassman history majors at the collegiate level. Except…. Wellerstein shows here – repeatedly – that this wasn’t exactly how that went down. Indeed, Wellerstein uses first hand sources from a few different key people – including Truman himself, where possible – to show that not only was there not one single decision to drop the bombs or where, but that Truman himself likely understood neither the weapon nor the target profile. (Which, let’s face it, both humanizes him a bit more – something Wellerstein is *great* at in this text, for what that’s worth – and should give most of us at least a touch of hope given more recent Presidents and their mental abilities.)

Then, in the period after the bombings, Truman – and the world – realize what has been done… and Truman is personally absolutely horrified. This is where and when the real struggles begin, and the “rest of the story” (as Paul Harvey famously proclaimed for so long) begins. And y’all, this part reads almost like a DC spy thriller/ court drama. High ranking people across several different realms within the US government all seeking to have their vision of the future made manifest, with Truman – and his famous “buck stops here” mantra – the focal point and the one both making decisions and seeking to establish his own preferred path.

Now, with all this lesser known history and with the entire point of the book showing a side of Truman most often ignored by history and historians, some may argue that this necessistates application of the Sagan Standard -that these are extraordinary claims that thus require extraordinary evidence. From my reading here and my understanding of both this text and the relevant histories as I know them, I don’t think this is true. This is a bit of a bombshell, yes, but is also fits pretty squarely in with known histories, it simply illuminates lesser known corners of those histories more properly. Thus, for me, the roughly 20% bibliography here sufficiently establishes a reasonable amount of documentation, and the frequent citations of the diaries and memoirs of those directly involved show the depth of research Wellerstein was able to bring to the table here.

Overall a very well written text that will completely rewrite your understanding of the post-WWII period as it relates to the use and control of atomic weapons – which seems to be Wellerstein’s very point, meaning he executed that point to near perfection.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Most Awful Responsibility by Alex Wellerstein was originally written on December 14, 2025.

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#BookReview: Road To Surrender by Evan Thomas

History In All Its Complexity. This is one of the better histories of the nuclear bombings of Japan that I’ve come across over the years in that it isn’t “hoo-rah we didn’t drop *enough* bombs on Japan!”, but it also isn’t “nuclear weapons are an absolute abomination and their use made the term “war crime” seem like stealing a piece of gum, it was so much worse than that”. (The second there being closer to my own position on the matter, for what that’s worth.)

Instead, Thomas takes pains to show the complex realities on both sides of the war, both in what the leaders at the time knew and in the various pressures each was facing in trying to lead nations during a war. This is a Western-based book, and thus ultimately comes down on the side of the deployment of these weapons being “necessary”, but Thomas really shows effort to show that at least some of the American leaders that ultimately selected the targets and ordered the strikes did at least attempt to consider other alternatives – but again, given their own intelligence estimates, planning, and pressures, ultimately concluded to issue the orders they did.

One thing that becomes crystal clear when reading this text, however, is that while there may not have been (apparently clearly were not) actual communications regarding this between the governments, there absolutely were people – high ranking people – on both sides that were seeking ways to avoid this fate. There were those on the American side high enough up to know what was being built in top secrecy but low enough to not be able to countermand the order to actually use them that wanted to avoid civilian deaths at *all* costs – even if it meant not dropping these bombs at all. There were those on the Japanese side that were striving, as early as late 1944 in particular, to find some way to end the war and still allow Japan to retain its Imperial system, or at bare minimum its Emperor. (Which, to be clear, despite the US “insisting” on “unconditional” surrender, *was* ultimately allowed – and yes, Thomas goes into detail here too about what the terms actually meant to both sides.)

Truly one of the better histories of the topic I’ve ever come across, and I’m glad I finally read this text on US Memorial Weekend 2025, as we begin to go through the 80th anniversary of many of the final events detailed in this book.

Very much recommended.

This review of Road To Surrender by Evan Thomas was originally written on June 1, 2025.

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#BookReview: Uniting America by Peter Shinkle

Strong Historical Exposition Marred By Back Half Of Epilogue. This is a book that was an absolute 5* read… until potentially the last few pages. It is well documented at 31% of the text, and even claims to have a handful of previously unreported facts – which given just how *libraries* have been filled with even solely nonfiction tomes on everything to do with WWII, would be quite a feat indeed if accurate. As with most histories of its type, it spends a few chapters both before and after the period directly in question, setting it in its context and showing its aftermath, respectively, with the bulk of the narrative focused on the core thesis. Through all of this, and even through the first half of the epilogue, this book truly is remarkable.

But then… Shinkle just *had* to put his thoughts on more recent events, particularly political events of the last few years, in the same tome, and in its last pages to boot. This is *worse* than being a “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” scenario where the tale should have ended *shortly* after the coronation of Aragorn, as in this instance it is more akin to ending Return of the King with a few pages discussing the events of Star Wars: Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi and trying to tie the two together. Yes, there are some *very high level* similarities. But if you’ve just spent 300 ish pages discussing the very *minutia* of the one thing, and then you try to zoom out to an International Space Station level to get a view that *might* *maybe* support linking this other thing to that first thing… it ultimately sours the taste of the overall meal.

Still, ultimately this narrative *is* a strong and interesting one that anyone seeking to more fully understand WWII should read. Just ignore the final few pages. You’ll know them when you encounter them. Recommended.

This review of Uniting America by Peter Shinkle was originally written on October 4, 2022.