Atomic Bomb Island
Tinian, the Last Stage of the Manhattan Project, and the Dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Japan in World War II
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Atomic Bomb Island
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Narrated by:
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John Lescault
About this listen
Atomic Bomb Island tells the story of an elite, top-secret team of sailors, airmen, scientists, technicians, and engineers who came to Tinian in the Marianas in the middle of 1945 to prepare the island for delivery of the atomic bombs then being developed in New Mexico, to finalize the designs of the bombs themselves, and to launch the missions that would unleash hell on Japan.
Almost exactly a year before the atomic bombs were dropped, strategically important Tinian was captured by Marines - because it was only 1,500 miles from Japan and its terrain afforded ideal runways from which the new B-29 bombers could pound Japan. In the months that followed, the US turned virtually all of Tinian into a giant airbase, with streets named after those of Manhattan Island - a Marianas city where the bombs could be assembled, the heavily laden B-29s could be launched, and the Manhattan Project scientists could do their last work.
Mariana Islands historian Don Farrell has done this story incredible justice for the 75th anniversary. The book is a thoroughly researched mosaic of the final phase of the Manhattan Project, from the Battle of Tinian and the USS Indianapolis to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
©2019 Don A. Farrell (P)2021 Blackstone PublishingWhat listeners say about Atomic Bomb Island
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Michal
- 05-01-2022
Great when it sticks to its story
It's an important book detailing the little know activities on the Tinian island relating to dropping two nuclear bombs on Japan.
When the author sticks to the story he is trying to tell he usually succeeds quite well. The Tinian Island story is not well known and it's only hinted in a number of other Manhattan Project books. I have not appreciated the difficulty and complexity of creating a base of operation on Tinian during WWII for the purposes of dropping the nuclear bombs and this part of the book is indeed quite fascinating.
The author fails quite badly telling only one side of the political story about the bombs and calling out what he calls "revisionists historians". If so, the author is quite a "reactionary historian" ignoring a lot of evidence which does not fit his own political views.
There are also a number of other missteps, mostly to do when trying to paint the political situation of WWII, usually regarding to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The author paints quite a naive and American-centric picture of the war and for a seasoned reader it can be quite cringe-worthy at times.
The book could have used a good editor, there is a big number of unnecessary repetitions and silly statements when the author tries to make his point.
If only the author has restricted himself to the story he set out to tell I would have been happy to give it five starts.
I am happy to award five stars to the lector who did a very good job.
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