A Book A Week

On August 6, 1945, the American military dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and the world was forever changed. It’s difficult to comprehend the full weight of this moment: more than 200,000 people lost their lives as a result of the blast. In Ghosts of Hiroshima, Charles Pellegrino revisits this devastation through the eyes of survivors, blending history, science, and deeply human testimony. The result is a sweeping yet intimate account that captures both the scale of destruction and the lasting human cost of this turning point in history.

Like many readers, I approached this book with the realization that I knew very little about Hiroshima. In school, it was taught as part of the larger World War II story, but little attention was given to the profound human aftermath. Pellegrino corrects that by grounding the narrative in individual stories, tracing the moments leading up to August 6, 1945, and the unimaginable consequences that followed. He draws on firsthand accounts, archival research, and his scientific expertise to create a narrative that feels immediate, visceral, and raw.

What struck me most was the way Pellegrino uses memory as the central thread. He reveals how trauma lingers across decades, shaping survivors’ lives and echoing through generations. The “ghosts” of Hiroshima are not only the lives lost that day, but also the radiation sickness, survivor’s guilt, fractured families, nationalism, and the moral reckoning with nuclear warfare that followed. There are no easy answers here, only the necessity of remembering, learning, and honoring the people who lived through the unimaginable.

Ghosts of Hiroshima is a powerful, haunting read that humanizes a moment in history often reduced to statistics and summary. Pellegrino balances his scientific background with rich storytelling, making the book as informative as it is moving. It’s no surprise that filmmaker James Cameron has announced plans to adapt it for the screen. Until then, Pellegrino’s work ensures these voices—and their ghosts—are not forgotten.

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(2025, 68)