F I V E D AY S I N A U G U S T This page intentionally left blank F I V E D AY S I N A U G U S T How World War II Became a Nuclear War Michael D. Gordin Princeton University Press Princeton and Oxford Copyright © 2007 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton,New Jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 3 Market Place, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1SY All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gordin,Michael D. Five days in August :how World War II be- came a nuclear war / Michael D.Gordin. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13:978-0-691-12818-4 (alk.paper) ISBN-10:0-691-12818-9 1. Hiroshima-shi (Japan)—History— Bombardment,1945. 2. Nagasaki-shi (Japan)— History—Bombardment,1945. 3. Atomic bomb—United States—History. 4. World War,1939–1945—Japan. 5. Capitulations,Military—Japan—History— 20th century. I. Title. D767.25.H6G67 2007 940.54'2521954—dc22 2006049337 British Library Cataloging-in- Publication Data is available This book has been composed in Aldus Printed on acid-free paper.∞ pup.princeton.edu Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Katie This page intentionally left blank The world is what it is,that is,nothing much.Since yesterday,that is what everybody knows,thanks to the tremendous concert which the radio, newspaper,and information agencies have just started on this subject of the atomic bomb.We are informed,in- deed,in the middle of piles of enthusi- astic commentaries,that any city of average size can be totally razed by a bomb the size of a soccer ball. —Albert Camus,8 August 1945 In recent years,in classes and special lec- tures,I’ve had many occasions to de- scribe to younger people the [Manhat- tan] project,the [atomic] bomb,and its use.I’ve found that at the start a very wide gap separates us.The first thing most of my listeners learned about World War II is that we won it.That is,so to speak,the last thing I learned about it.The first thing they learned about the atomic bomb is that we dropped one on Hiroshima and an- other on Nagasaki.That is the last thing I learned about the project. —Herbert F.York ...for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so... —Hamlet,II.ii This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Illustrations xi Acknowledgments xiii Chronology xv Chapter 1: Endings 5 Chapter 2: Shock 16 Chapter 3: Special 39 Chapter 4: Miracle 59 Chapter 5: Papacy 85 Chapter 6: Revolution 107 Chapter 7: Beginnings 124 Coda: On the Scholarly Literature 141 Abbreviations Used in Notes 145 Notes 147 Index 195