Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story

Don’t fault this reviewer for terming the atomic massacre of the civilians of Nagasaki, " a holocaust largely ignored.” Prior to the imposition, beginning in the late 1960s, of an exclusive, proprietary relationship between the word “holocaust" and the suffering of Judaic people in World War II, “holocaust” was freely employed to describe any mass death by fire, which is indeed the dictionary-definition. Since when has Orwellian Newspeak invalidated a person’s right to use a word from the dictionary?All holocausts should be commemorated. What the US government did to Nagasaki after Hiroshima was a horror of unprecedented proportions.There are a few important books on Nagasaki, including "A Song for Nagasaki: The Story of Takashi Nagai-Scientist, Convert, and Survivor of the Atomic Bomb.” What is special and remarkable about "Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story,” is that it’s intended audience is young people, yet in its Zen-like simplicity it makes for compelling reading for adults. The directness of the prose and illustrations makes for a personal account of this great evil that is both clear and poignant.To anticipate the standard alibi concerning the supposed “necessity” of burning alive the people of Japan: Japan had been wanting to surrender from 1943. I am a former reporter for the Associated Press and my colleague in the media, the distinguished journalist Walter Trohan, informed me that he could not report that fact in the Chicago Tribune, due to war-time censorship. He gleaned the fact about the Japanese surrender offer from FDR’s chief of staff, Admiral Leahy. It was published in the Tribune days after the war ended. Japan had sought a conditional surrender. Mr. Truman atomic bombed Japan to impose an unconditional surrender.As for the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor: it was aggressive warfare, and therefore a crime, but it was an attack on a military base, not an American city. In the face of Nagasaki, we should learn humility and the lesson of this and every holocaust: may we never let it happen again. Remembrance is the hinge upon which that pledge depends, and this book assists both us and our youth to remember the horrors of “The Good War” which, in our chauvinism, we too often like to forget.

The story was amazing and well written. I liked the photos. They helped to make Sachiko's story easier to picture. Only real complaint was that it did not download right to Kindle which made it unreadable. Had to be read sideways.

This book is absolutely heartbreaking and beautiful, and such an important story to share. After reading Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin with my 12 year old, I wanted to read something from the point of view of the Japanese who were victimized by the bomb, and this was the perfect follow-up book for that purpose.That said, my 12 year old had a very hard time reading about the events that transpire in the first few chapters of the book, and asked me if I would stop reading it to him. He said it made him sick to his stomach. So of course I set it aside. The story of what happens to Sachiko and her family following the dropping of the bomb is very disturbing. I hope in the future my son will feel ready to finish the book. I think it's essential that we inform ourselves about what happened to families like Sachiko's, and what is really at stake when we talk about nuclear weapons and war.

I've no time today to write the detailed review this book deserves, only time to say that in my hasty read I found it an excellent and historically balanced work with none of the inaccuracies that plague most books about these events, in particular those by "revisionist" historians. The author has been admirably thorough in her research.

A true tale told from the perspective of a survivor of the Nagasaki Atomic bombing. The book balanced injecting information that would allow the reader to understand the history surrounding the time period in an effort to help understand how this bombing occurred. While I was hopeful the narrator would remain a child, the story takes us through her lifetime and what ultimately leads her to tell her story. I thought this was well done with a good balance of background information. While truthful, it never turned gory nor did it preach to who was right or wrong, but left an understanding of why something like this should never purposely happen again.

Sachiko is a heartfelt and sensitive story about a life journey from despair to hope. It tells the story we don't know of the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Japan. Six-year old Sachiko Yusui was playing when her life was suddenly turned upside down. Her entire family suffered instant death, death by radiation poisoning or a lifelong struggle with cancer. She herself was bullied and ostracized because of her radiation exposure. But Sachiko was resilient. Her father was her guiding light and through him she learned about the non-violent philosophy of Gandhi. Inspired by the example of Helen Keller she regains her voice that she lost due to thyroid cancer. Eventually she emergences with the strength to become a tireless advocate for peace. An inspiring saga for young and old alike. Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Just finished it. Going to recommend it for my book group. Very well written. I am a former journalist so I appreciate the very direct, factual approach. Not maudlin, but empathetic somehow. Photos, illustrations accompanying the text right on point. It helps to place the Nagasaki and Hiroshima in perspective via map, harbor, description of its locale to other parts of Japan. This book might well have accomplished making me a complete peacenik...not Ghandi, not MLK Jr., Sachiko. .

What an amazing book! Absolutely addicting. Sachiko endured more in her first 12 years of life than many do in their entire life. So brilliantly written, and a very hard truth. I was beside myself reading this book. Must have!!