The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and also Nagasaki in 1945 killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese people. The official reason given by then United States President Harry Truman was that it would save more American lives than it would kill Japanese. Prior to the Americans dropping

the atomic bomb, many Americans had become upset by the behavior the Japanese had displayed concerning the bombing of Pearl Harbor and their particular cruelty to prisoners of war. The bombing of Pearl Harbor destroyed a huge amount of American bomber planes and naval fleets that were parked and harbored on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. As well as destroying the planes and sailing vessels, the Japanese killed over 2000 members of the US Navy, and numerous members of the army and a small margin of civilians. The Japanese also managed to destroy four US battleships. They caused massive damage and devastation and killed hundreds of people. Added to the fact that many prisoners of war died in their hands due to murder, starvation and torture, the bombing was, to some people, a valid revenge.

Hersey appeals to the reader's sensitivity by portraying six real people who suffer greatly. However, he does not go into in depth talk of the decision to use the atomic bomb. Hersey chose a simple, yet effective, way to tell the six separate stories. He introduces each and then follows their individual actions, keeping the reader updated in each of the chapters as the days and months

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