Hiroshima (1946)

True First Book Edition of John Hersey's Hiroshima

Hersey, John. Hiroshima. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946.

Octavo. Hardcover. 1st Edition.

First book edition, originally published in the New Yorker, of this much lauded report on Hiroshima, in the original dust jacket. "Hersey was determined to present a real and raw image of the impact of the bomb to American readers. They could not depend on censored materials from the US Occupying Force in Japan to accurately present the wreckage of the atomic blast. Hersey’s graphic and gut-wrenching descriptions of the misery he encountered in Hiroshima offered what officials could not: the human cost of the bomb. He wanted the story of the victims he interviewed to speak for themselves, and to reconstruct in dramatic yet relatable detail their experiences" (National WWII Museum). This is the true first edition with a dust jacket price of $1.75; the market is currently flooded with BCEs lacking the dust jacket price but appearing identical in all other respects. Book near-fine with slightest discoloration to edges of cloth, dust jacket very good or better with a couple of faint blue marks to front panel, light wear to extremities, and slight toning mainly to spine.