Hiroshima

In journalism class we were assigned to read the book Hiroshima by John Hersey. I am glad I read it because I thought the overall book itself was very good and the stories were something I hadn't known before about the atomic bomb's victims.

I thought Hersey's idea was great. The people affected and their stories. We're always taught to have real people in our stories in journalism so the reader can connect, and he did it very well. I think this a great example that journalists can learn from.

The story recalls what happened through the eyes of the victims, not of the americans who dropped the bomb - which is the most commonly known story. I think it was good of Hersey to reach onto the other side because otherwise we would never know how they felt.

In one part of the story there are details about someones skin peeling off their hand. That's what you remember, not the name of some guy in a plane dropped a bomb that killed thousands of people. Hersey talks about what people care about - feelings.

The only parts I didn't like were the structure. I thought the sentences were too long, the paragraphs were confusing and the type was so small it was hard to keep track of everything. The names were all similar too so hard to follow, but there's a cultural difference for you.