(1914-1993) American novelist and journalist who wrote a variety of fiction and nonfiction works. He is well known for his article, later published in book
form,
Hiroshima (1946), which gives a
factual and detailed
report on the first city to be destroyed by an
atomic bomb. The book concentrates on six survivors and details what they witnessed and their experiences. The bombing occurred during
World War II (1939-1945) on August 6, 1945 when the first
atomic bomb was
dropped on the city of
Hiroshima in Japan. The
bomb took the lives of 75,000 to 80,000 people and destroyed 60,000 to 90,000 buildings. Its blast covered four
square miles and many of those who survived were
maimed,
burned or suffered from
radiation sickness.