Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima & Beyond
Subversion of Values
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Praise for From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima by Arch B. Taylor, Jr.
“Your book is extremely valuable. I admire so much about this book, and I wish that more Americans were reading it. I wish I had had it when I wrote my own Honest Patriots and even more when I was writing An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics.”
Donald W. Shriver, Jr., author of Honest Patriots: Loving a Country Enough to Remember its Misdeeds, recipient of the 2009 Grawemeyer Award in Religion bestowed by Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the University of Louisville.
Donald Shriver says further:
People say, “you can't change history.” But you can change your understanding of it in hope of a human turn towards a future different from the past. We Americans need to grapple with the case for revising the view that the atomic bombs were needed to end our war with Japan. They may have been unnecessary. In this well researched book, Arch Taylor states that case. We need books like this if we are to save our human future from the utter devastations of nuclear war.
Other recommendations:
Arch Taylor writes about a very important subject. His story about Hiroshima and Nagasaki must be told over and over again. The U.S. nuclear bombing of Japan was not needed to end the war. What it says about the soul of America is the real story. This book should be read by every one.
Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space
In retrospect, what may have seemed to be a good thing at the time may not be viewed as good at all. Some people are raising questions about the atomic blasts in Japan. It is important for us to listen to those critics, because if we make mistakes in history and do not learn from them, we are apt to repeat them. This book is worthy of serious consideration to help us in the process.
by Tony Campolo, PhD Eastern University, author of Speaking My Mind: The Radical Evangelical Prophet Tackles the Tough Issues Christians are Afraid to Face.
I certainly agree with your estimate of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and I am with you in trying to spread a culture of non-violence in our violent times.
Howard Zinn, Late columnist, author of People’s History of the United States: 1492 to Present
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About the Book
The attack on Pearl Harbor and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki define for many Americans the momentous twentieth century. The evil Japanese empire attacked innocent Americans and forced us into an unwanted war. As payback we ended the war with the Bomb, and at the same time we prevented the loss of millions of lives that an invasion of Japan would have cost. We believe that we fight only when enemies attack us, and that by imposing overwhelming power we accomplish great good.
Skilled researchers using previously classified documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) now tell us that President Franklin D. Roosevelt followed a careful strategy to entice Japan to attack Pearl Harbor to get us into World War II. Soon after the bombs incinerated Hiroshima and Nagasaki, authorities learned that Japan was on the brink of defeat and would have surrendered without the Bomb. Our government concealed the evidence and led us to believe that this terrible weapon made deadly invasion unnecessary, and therefore the Bomb is really good.
Author Taylor describes how this flawed self-image of America as innocent victim accomplishing good by overwhelming power subverted moral and ethical values. We are on course that many people see as imperialistic and threatening to ourselves and to the world. Taylor brings to bear a Christian biblical perspective on this condition and offers suggestions for healing.
About the Author
Arch B. Taylor, Jr. is an ordained Presbyterian minister who served for over thirty years in Japan and taught Bible at Shikoku Gakuin University. After retirement he went on short delegations twice to Nicaragua, with Witness for Peace and Habitat for Humanity, and once to Israel/Palestine wth Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and Christian Peacemaker Teams.