Fighting to a Finish

Book excerpt: When the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, most Americans rejoiced that the strategy hastened the surrender of Japan. Shortly thereafter questions emerged about necessity and morality of the nuclear attacks and whether the bombings should be seen as the end of World War II or as the beginning of the Cold War. The author skillfully untangles bureaucratic conflicts in U.S. and Japanese governments to show how U.S. demands for unconditional surrender and the agonized Japanese response delayed the war's end--Publisher's description.