To Hell and Back

The Last Train from Hiroshima

De: Charles Pellegrino

Narrado por: David Colacci

To Hell and Back offers listeners a stunning "you are there" time capsule, wrapped in elegant prose. Charles Pellegrino's scientific authority and close relationship with the A-bomb survivors make his account the most gripping and authoritative ever written.

At the narrative's core are eyewitness accounts of those who experienced the atomic explosions firsthand - the Japanese civilians on the ground. As the first city targeted, Hiroshima is the focus of most histories. Pellegrino gives equal weight to the bombing of Nagasaki, symbolized by the 30 people who are known to have fled Hiroshima for Nagasaki - where they arrived just in time to survive the second bomb. One of them, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, is the only person who experienced the full effects of both cataclysms within Ground Zero. The second time, the blast effects were diverted around the stairwell behind which Yamaguchi's office conference was convened - placing him and few others in a shock cocoon that offered protection while the entire building disappeared around them.

Pellegrino weaves spellbinding stories together within a narrative that challenges the "official report", showing exactly what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki - and why.

©2015 Rowman & Littlefield (P)2020 Tantor

Powerful Account of Nuclear War

Intensely graphic! Sobering!

This is a gripping story of how people are impacted by nuclear war. Pellegrino gives you all of the details! Warning, his writing is intellectually graphic in a way the reader can feel the pain of the victims and survivors!

Really liked it.

The author vividly paints an accurate portrayal of the people in the cities. Big fan.

Emotional, must read!

Overall, emotional . Brings whole different world to light. Comes full circle on today's world!

Never again

Nyocodo, not sure how to spell this in Japanese, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,”show kindness.

the detailed history

I like learning about the terrible effects of being at ground zero, along with wonderful miracles

Heartbreaking

the reader at first was a little off putting, but by the end nobody could of done a better job, though monotone it made the more horrific parts more horrifying then someone who has a less monotone voice. Do not listen if you squeamishness it details the horror of witnesses of the bombs horrible aftermath, and what happened to them after the Japanese government surrendered. Though I wished that they had a insert of certain scientific description, like for example fire tornadoes then fire snakes because I tried to see if it was a definition for something else, and just came to my own conclusion that they were seeing fire tornadoes. However with other things that happened, after and during there probably isn't enough studies to actually have a name for them, or the author decided to steer away from that, to shorten the book with how long it is, and I'll have to find a different book to detail the more scientific aspects of what happened instead of witness statements. but otherwise a good listen though heartbreaking for what happened to all the people because of their government.

More Than I Bargained For, In A Good Way

I read this hoping to find interesting morbid details because things like that, serial killers, and dark history is my interest. I certaintly got a lot of gory details and stories, but I also got much, much more. The most important thing I got from this book is a new appreciation for the power of mercy, forgiveness, and the human condition. I can see myself refer back to this book to help me become a better Christian. That is more than I bargained for.

Everyone should read this book

This is of course going to be a heavy read or rather a heavy listen if you’re using the audiobook version so I recommend having plenty of time to take breaks and reflect on some of the things that you’ll hear. If this is not a topic that you already have a lot of information on then you’re gonna get the full gambit, but it doesn’t do too far into anything happening during the war or pre-war it’s focused, mainly on the events surrounding the two atomic bomb detonations. This book centers around a “on the ground” point of view from an every day observers perspective of what it was like to live through one of these events, which for me was an extremely eye-opening experience. I hope that everyone takes time to read this book to understand the full effect that these weapons have on the world and why they should never be used again.

Long term effects of violence/war

A quote from a survivor of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki said
Send forth kindness like a contagious disease
Sutuyo Yamaguchi

The devastation and heartbreaking experiences

This really opened my eyes on war. How it affects everyone from both sides to the innocent caught in between. The way the survivors spoke of their own experiences so detailed. I felt every hardship that they talked about. This book is a horrible and painful piece of history. I really recommend everyone read this. We should fight for peace, to make the world better for the next child.