Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb Tag: Author of a Different Mirror

A widely accepted theory is that President Harry Truman ordered the atomic bomb dropped on Japan to end the war quickly and to avoid the massive casualties that would have occurred during an Allied invasion. That view, according to Takaki, is simplistic. He argues that Truman's overriding concern-American policy toward the Soviet Union-led him to hope that a combat demonstration of the bomb in Japan would lead to Soviet postwar cooperation and discourage that country's imperialist expansion. Takaki also contends that the President's readiness to use the bomb was linked to America's racial rage against the Japanese and to Truman's own racist attitudes. Takaki's Harry Truman will be unfamiliar to most readers: insecure, unable to say no to strong-willed officials such as Secretary of State James Byrnes, struggling to overcome his childhood identity as a sissy by means of macho behavior, suffering remorse over his historic decision. Right or wrong, the study is a provocative addition to the unresolved debate over the dropping of the atomic bombs. Takaki is a professor of ethnic studies at UC Berkeley. Photos. (Aug.)