The Last Train from Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back by Charles Pellegrino

I am fascinated by the science of atomic bombs (read American Prometheus), yet a devout pacifist. I would like to believe that if The Last Train from Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino was required reading in high school history classes, we’d never have to worry about atomic war again. But I know that’s not true. War isn’t about what makes sense, it’s about power, or if you’re so inclined, standing up against tyranny, but whatever the motivation, it will never go away.

Aside from the following facts, I loved this book: (1) The author has, under huge criticism, admitted that he was duped by one of his information sources. The books were supposedly recalled and edits made (about 5 pages). (2) The stories are horrifying, graphic and soul crushing. FYI, James Cameron has optioned this book for a movie....

How could I love a book like this? Because I loved the way that Charles Pelligrino clinically broke down the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to nano seconds, dissecting the mechanics of the bombs in a way I’ve never heard before, i.e., “One ten-millionth of a second later, a sphere of gamma rays escaped the core at light speed.” Click on Read More.


Call me ghoulish, but hearing the minute descriptions of what happens, upon the detonation of an atomic bomb, to the human skin if you are at ground zero, as opposed to what happens to your skin if you're three block from ground zero, broken down by tenths of seconds, was absolutely fascinating to me. This is the type of book that you’re either going to be interested in or not. If you made it this far, here’s some more nuggets of information:

1. If you’re in an area under threat of nuclear attack, wear white clothing as white very effectively reflects the gamma rays that otherwise torch you to ash.
2. Get behind or under anything. Duck and cover really does count.
3. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, other than being a horrific act and a blight on humanity, was a military clusterfuck that was barely even pulled off, and obviously shouldn’t have been.
4. You want to be: (a) At ground zero (you’ll never know what hit you), (b) In the “shock cocoon” (a funky little area about 3 blocks from ground zero where your hair will barely get ruffled, but you’ll die pretty quickly, or (c) On another planet.

For those of you who say how many American lives the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved, well, we shouldn’t have been fighting to begin with. That’s simplistic, but that’s my position and I’m sticking to it.

Whether The Last Train from Hiroshima is 100% accurate or not, it’s a cautionary tale, well told, and which, unfortunately, we probably won’t heed.