Hiroshima Diary

The Journal of a Japanese Physician, August 6-September 30, 1945

By: Michihiko Hachiya MD

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

The late Dr. Michihiko Hachiya was director of the Hiroshima Communications Hospital when the world's first atomic bomb was dropped on the city. Though his responsibilities in the appalling chaos of a devastated city were awesome, he found time to record the story daily, with compassion and tenderness. Dr. Hachiya's compelling diary was originally published by the UNC Press in 1955, with the help of Dr. Warner Wells of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who was a surgical consultant to the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission and who became a friend of Dr. Hachiya. In a new foreword, John Dower reflects on the enduring importance of the diary 50 years after the bombing.

©1983, 1995 The University of North Carolina Press. Foreword by John W. Dower by the University of North Carolina Press. (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"An extraordinary literary event." ( The New York Times)

So very good!

I'm very thankful for the opportunity to hear such a honest writing. May we all have compassion for one another!

Riveting.

A fantastic recounting of one of the most controversial war decisions in history. Great reading as well.

Loong Intro but Fascinating

The intro was just too long. a gigantic spoiler really. I skipped to Chapter 3. I thought it was so fascinating to hear this educated man and his educated friends wonder what had just happened. The story is heartbreaking to hear so much loss of life. I'm really glad the Americans were kind and friendly once they arrived.

Startling First Person Account

Unlike John Hersey’s Hiroshima, which splices multiple survivor accounts, Dr. Hachiya’s two month single perspective account connects better as the listener must stay with his narrative. From embarrassed patient to one of a few doctors when he gets on his feet, Dr. Hachiya’s account provides a clear picture of life during and well after the blast. This would be a worthy addition to anyone’s Audible library.

So Many Horrors at Once

While doing research for my second novel, which is actually supposed to be quite uplifting, I stumbled onto "Hiroshima Diary," and I was hooked from the sample. If I'd hoped to get a sense of what it was like/the devastation of nuclear horror from Paul Ham's "Hiroshima, Nagasaki," and didn't find it there, I certainly found it here. This is the diary of a single man, a doctor, badly wounded at first, so he can observe, firsthand, how pathetic and hopeless/helpless he is, just to be parked there, waiting for treatment with such poor options, such few supplies.
Bur through it all, the patients, the doctors, the visitors, all the survivors, for the most part have hope and heart. It's a truly extraordinary listen as these people strive to make do, strive to help each other, strive to bring some sense of cheer to some horrific days. A young girl whose entire body is burned but whose face is still beautiful is made to smile--that's seen as a miracle and part of a good day. Supplies, however meager, being brought in, are part of a good day. Memories of peaches brought by somebody who survived the bomb are brought to mind, and are relished with gratitude. A breeze on a bitterly hot day, so wonderful.
This is a graphic, graphic listen, not for the faint of heart, not for the young.
But certainly for those who would like to learn a little more, feel a little more, love and appreciate their world a little more.
And it did what Paul Ham's book didn't do: It made me shudder for my part in humankind...

Interesting find

I just stumbled upon this book and I'm glad I did, what an interesting account from Hiroshima in the hours, days, weeks, months after the bomb was dropped. I love reading first hand accounts of history like this, written in the moment and not done with a revisionist agenda, it's just a diary of the day to day happenings and news as it occurred. I only wish it covered more territory, in particular more about the occupation, etc. I skipped the intro as I just wanted to hear the actual diary so I have no idea if that's just a bunch of anti-nuke nonsense or not, but the actual diary itself is a great and very interesting read.

The reader does a great job, the characters/individuals are easy to tell by their voice and he stays consistent. I don't know Japanese so I have no idea if he pronounced things correctly or not, but it sounded good to my ear.

If you want the diary of a doctor in post-Hiroshima, this is as good as it gets.

His Actual Diary

That's what caught my attention. The actual diary of a physician that lived through the bombing. I found it fascinating. Took them a bit to sort out what had just happened to them but as they started to document injuries they could begin to figure out how to treat them.

New perspective

What a new perspective to hear things from the other side, absolutely loved it. I hope many more enjoy it

Hiroshima Diary

I specifically read this in preparation for my visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. And yes, it obviously enriched my experience. For anyone planning to visit Hiroshima I would make this an essential pre-visit read.

The tone of the writing is fascinating. Extremely unemotional; a little detached even. Which, in itself, is a really curious window into the mind of the author. It’s hard to say this one man represents the fortitude of the entire population of the time… but through Dr. Hachiya’s lens the Japanese people definitely do seem stoic. Interestingly, most of the anger for their plight seems to be reserved for the Japanese armed forces with very little animosity toward the United States.

For those with any kind of scientific or medical bent… a good percentage of the diary describes the clinical symptoms of those “survivors” suffering from radiation poisoning, which is both mesmerizing and horrific. I say “survivors” but in reality, many of those who survived the blast but were exposed to radiation, eventually died.

"There is only one way in which one can endure man's inhumanity to man and that is to try, in one's own life, to exemplify man's humanity to man."
-- Alan Paton

The narrator was wonderful. The story was unique.

I have been listening to many books about World War Two, but most have either been from the prospective of Americans. Usually soldiers.
I have also heard many books going forward, most seem to be about Germany and the Nazis. This book was a window into the Japanese story. The more books I have heard about any war the more it makes me feel we should never let another war happen again. The voice of the narrator and the true story of the Japanese doctor made me feel a connection and respect for humanity. I loved it.