I received an advance reading copy (arc) of this book from the publisher and NetGalley.com in exchange for a fair review. This book is the second in a series--the first one was about Hiroshima. I began this book hoping to learn about the horrific effects of the second atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan in 1945 to effectively end the Pacific side of World War II. I got there eventually, but first I had to read the two-thirds of the book. The author spent way too many pages detailing Japanese history. The textbook style of writing was very dry and I actually lost interest. I did persevere and when I finally got near the end, the narrative picked up and became very interesting. Author M.G. Sheftall lives and works in Japan and he had the opportunity to meet with several now elderly people who survived the bombing in Nagasaki. Their stories were harrowing and their explicit descriptions chilling. Hundreds of thousands of people died, but those who survived lived the rest of their lives haunted by the devastation they witnessed, as well as fear of what physical problems the future might hold. No one could possibly come out of something so terrible without scars--either visible or invisible. The saddest part to me was the fact that today's Japanese youth have no interest in what happened. According to Sheftall, they are apathetic to the fact that atomic weapons are still being developed despite what their own grandparents went through. If you are interested in Japanese history, then this book is for you.

I'm a big fan of M.G. Sheftall's writing having read his works on Hiroshima and the kamikaze. I love how he very carefully speaks with people and then tells their stories, weaving them together to give an accounting of his subject matter. His works fall into the category of readable history. By that I mean, one can learn something in a way that doesn't have the reader with their eyes glazed over out of boredom. He brings life to history and I think we can all appreciate that.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I can't wait to see what he tackles next. First class writing here!

A timely and well researched look at what led up to the US nuclear bomb being dropped at Nagasaki and more importantly, what came after. Tis isn't an easy read but it's gripping one. If ever there was a cautionary tale, this, as well as the earlier look at Hiroshima, are it. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. History buffs will appreciate this not only for the detail but for the accessible and highly readable way that it is written.

Nagasaki: The Last Witnesses, is the second book in the Embers series, with the first book entitled Hiroshima. Both works are timely following the recent release of the film Oppenheimer which looked at the development of atomic weapons and their impact on the world. These Japanese cities were targets of the first atomic bombs used in World War II as a way to finally get Japan to surrender unconditionally and end hostilities. I have not read the first book in the series, but that was not a problem in reading this book.

The book is detailed from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Sheftall uses a double narrative approach in telling the reader about the bombing of Nagasaki. The first narrative is concerned with a set of actual survivors before, during, and after August 9, 1945. A second narrative concerns the military perspective, both the American and Japanese, again before, during and after the drop of Fat Man, the name of the second atomic weapon.

As an American who has never been to Japan, I became lost in the descriptions of some of the streets and locations in Nagasaki. There is one map at the front of the book but reading a digital version it was not possible to go back and forth and try to figure out what was what and where was where. The author obviously wanted to tell an accurate story, but I found myself glossing over some the names and trying to recall what was significant about this one area of Nagasaki versus another.

As this was an advanced review copy there were no photographs or other illustrations that I hope make the printed version of the book.

I knew very little about the Nagasaki bombing before reading this book. I learned quite a bit, and it was interesting how the author contrasts the differences between Hiroshima-Nagasaki in terms of how the events are remembered, the different interpretations of why it happened, and so forth.

Nothing can compare with the horrors of an atomic weapon, and we can only hope and pray for our grandchildren (in my case) that these means of destruction are never used again. The descriptions of the victims and the suffering of those from radiation syndrome were very hard to read.

It is a very good book. For my own minor criticisms as mentioned earlier I give the book 4.25 stars rounded down to 4.0.

My thanks to author M. G. Sheftall, publisher Dutton Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an ARC of this new work. I attest my review is my original and unbiased work.

There’s a phrase that I thought of often while reading “Nagasaki: The Last Witnesses”: Say Their Names. When Americans learn about World War II and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we don’t learn about the human beings affected by those actions. The people are just numbers: in Nagasaki, 60,000 to 80,000 people who were killed, of an estimated 263,000 people who were in the city that day. We don’t say their names; we aren’t even really taught what happened to them.

With his ‘Embers’ series, M.G. Sheftall shares the names and the voices of some of the last survivors of the atomic bombings, known in Japan as hibakusha. ‘Nagasaki’ picks up, of course, where last year’s volume about Hiroshima left off.

Gunge Norio. Ishida (Yanagawa) Masako. Sister Ursula Itonaga Yoshi. Tateno Sueko. Kiridōshi (Kano) Michiko. They have names. In the blink of an eye they lost practically everything – homes, loved ones, any sense of safety or security – and yet they survived, and lived to share what they went through.

Sheftall walks us through the American-side logistics of the dropping of the bomb, but primarily, we are introduced to his five informants – what their wartime lives were like with their families in the city of Nagasaki prior to the atomic bomb, as well as how the general culture of wartime Japan shaped their thoughts and their lives. We then hear their harrowing accounts of where they were and what they experienced at the moment of the bombing and in the immediate aftermath. I did not start crying, though, until nearly the end: when we hear about the lives that they went on to live as survivors, as well as advocates and educators. That’s a triumph, I think, and made me quite emotional after knowing all that they endured, physically and psychologically.

Sheftall does a great job of telling survivors’ stories as well as communicating on a purely factual basis what happened in the atomic bombings. I would absolutely recommend both books in this series to anyone who has an interest in history, science, World War II, Japanese culture, or survivors’ stories.

Much like the first installation (Hiroshima: The Last Witnesses) this is an incredibly detailed look a the events leading up to the dropping of a nuclear bomb, this time at Nagasaki, and the devastating aftereffects. Again, there was this lingering dread as each page goes by because you know what's going to happen! But as little as I ended up knowing about Hiroshima (despite thinking I knew more) I knew even less about Nagasaki and that was a sobering realization. Excellently written.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for an advance copy of this book of history, the second in a series that deals with the only uses of nuclear weapons used during wartime, the events that lead up to it, and of course what happened afterwards.

I have always loved history I think from an early age. I don't remember what the first books of history I read outside of school books. I don't remember much in the way of history classes until 6th grade. Pilgrims of course, and Columbus, but don't remember when we started really being instructed in past events. From the beginning I always wanted to know more. Everything we learned seemed to be events. This happened, flowed into this happened, and something else happened. I wanted to know more about the people who lived through the events. What happened to them. This interest might have come from my Grandfather, who told me long stories about people he met at work, stories that stretched over years and decades, dealing with marriage, children, life, death and more. Pop Pop was a chronicler, a man who remembered people who history might have forgotten. Facts are interesting, by the lives of others are where we can learn much. M. G. Sheftall knows this, and has given us a history about a human atrocity that doesn't forget the most important part, the human factor. Nagasaki: The Last Witnesses by historian and educator M. G. Sheftall is the second part of a historical series about the dropping of nuclear weapons on Japan during the Second World War, a behind the scenes history, an accounting and a tale of those who survived who were forever changed.

The book is the second and starts almost where the first book ended, with the bombing of Hiroshima committed, and the decision being made where the second bomb should be dropped. From there we go back a little to the planning made before the war made by American military planners in how to fight a war against Japan. As much of their buildings were made of wood, the planning was for a fire campaign The book covers the fire bombing of Tokyo, discussing the different zones the city was broken up in, and how these zone ideas were carries out onto most of the cities of Japan, including Nagasaki. The fire bombing and destruction of Tokyo has some unintended consequences for the survivors, with many being moved to what was the furthest city in Japan, and a place thought safe Nagasaki. As readers learn of the past, the book moves to the future with Sheftall working with survivor groups to find the last aging survivors so that Sheftall could record their stories.

The book as is most of history is a very rough read. Though one everyone should read. Sheftall is a very good writer, able to get into the smallest details about the science of the bomb, the geography and geology of the city, the minds of military planners. The capture the words of the survivors well on the page. Sheftall has really done an incredible job, writing history that is sad, absorbing, fascinating, and not at all detached. There are real characters here. A woman in her 80s retreating to a retirement community just to get some peace from her family, sharing her tales. The little bits of information, the disquieting details of what smells the pilots dealt with while firebombing a city, even at altitude. The power of the bomb, and the legacy it has on both the world and the Japanese people.

This is history that means something, not oh look a cool story about World War II, that come out all the time. This is a book about life, the world, events that can't be forgotten or memory holed. The things we say never again about, but happen all the time over and over Sheftall has done an incredible job over two books, and one should read both just to get a complete understanding. I really can't recommend this book enough.

This is an incredibly thorough review of the lead up to and aftermath of the American atomic bombing of Nagasaki. This book was clearly thoroughly researched and goes super in depth. A few typos and such knocked a star off for me.