Why people recommend it
John Hersey's groundbreaking work of narrative reportage, Hiroshima, documents the devastating atomic bombing of the Japanese city through the personal accounts of six survivors. On Conversations with Tyler, Annie Jacobsen noted that interviewers had observed the clear influence of Hersey's book on her own work concerning nuclear war. On The Book Review, Dwight Garner referenced the volume as the preeminent example of a specific form of reportage, while Pamela Paul frequently brought up Hersey's monumental book across multiple episodes. Paul introduced discussions surrounding the title, questioning its impact as a groundbreaking piece of journalism that originally appeared as an issue-length article in The New Yorker, and asked Susan Southard whether Hersey's classic served as a precedent for her own historical writing. Listeners and commentators continue to highlight Hiroshima for its unflinching, human-centered documentation of one of history's most catastrophic events, cementing its legacy as a foundational text of modern journalism and war reporting that forces readers to confront the devastating human toll of nuclear warfare.
Who recommended it
- Pamela Paul Discussed
- Annie Jacobsen Discussed
- Dwight Garner Discussed
Pamela Paul — 4 mentions
“what's the story behind John her's Monumental book Hiroshima”
“this is a book I should say about Hiroshima by John hery I think most people are probably familiar with that book um we'll talk about it in more detail”
“and was John her's book which was a first of course a uh an issue length article in the New Yorker was that a kind of turning point”
“when you set out to write this book um I imagine John her's hirosima was in your mind”
Annie Jacobsen — 1 mention
“and someone asked me or rather stated that my book nuclear war a scenario was clearly influenced by John Hershey's Hiroshima and Cormick McCarthy's the road and I thought what absolutely both of those books I have read more than once each of those books”
Dwight Garner — 1 mention
“you know it's a form that was really I think perhaps you know best known and sort of attributed to John hery for for Hiroshima”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- A Brief History of Seven Killings
- A Children's Bible
- A Christmas Carol
- A Spool of Blue Thread
- Antiracist Baby
- Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“I had Hiroshima, which was the John Hersey Wow. uh book that was originally published in full in The New Yorker about um the atom bomb.”
“I have not read Hiroshima since I think 9th grade in High School when it was assigned and I don't know if it's still assigned with the same regularity”