Road to Surrender

Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II

By: Evan Thomas

Narrated by: Robert Fass

A riveting, immersive account of the agonizing decision to use nuclear weapons against Japan—a crucial turning point in World War II and geopolitical history—with you-are-there immediacy by the New York Times bestselling author of Ike’s Bluff and Sea of Thunder.

“As Christopher Nolan’s movie Oppenheimer shows, the shockwaves reverberate still. The veteran biographer Evan Thomas now enters the debate.”—The Wall Street Journal

AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

At 9:20 a.m. on the morning of May 30, General Groves receives a message to report to the office of the secretary of war “at once.” Stimson is waiting for him. He wants to know: has Groves selected the targets yet?

So begins this suspenseful, impeccably researched history that draws on new access to diaries to tell the story of three men who were intimately involved with America’s decision to drop the atomic bomb—and Japan’s decision to surrender. They are Henry Stimson, the American Secretary of War, who oversaw J. Robert Oppenheimer under the Manhattan Project; Gen. Carl “Tooey” Spaatz, head of strategic bombing in the Pacific, who supervised the planes that dropped the bombs; and Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo, the only one in Emperor Hirohito’s Supreme War Council who believed even before the bombs were dropped that Japan should surrender.

Henry Stimson had served in the administrations of five presidents, but as Oppenheimer’s work progressed, he found himself tasked with the unimaginable decision of determining whether to deploy the bomb. The new president, Harry S. Truman, thus far a peripheral figure in the momentous decision, accepted Stimson’s recommendation to drop the bomb. Army Air Force Commander Gen. Spaatz ordered the planes to take off. Like Stimson, Spaatz agonized over the command even as he recognized it would end the war. After the bombs were dropped, Foreign Minister Togo was finally able to convince the emperor to surrender.

To bring these critical events to vivid life, bestselling author Evan Thomas draws on the diaries of Stimson, Togo and Spaatz, contemplating the immense weight of their historic decision. In Road to Surrender, an immersive, surprising, moving account, Thomas lays out the behind-the-scenes thoughts, feelings, motivations, and decision-making of three people who changed history.

©2023 Evan Thomas (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A terrifying, heartbreaking account of three men under unimaginable pressure . . . This is history that crackles with journalistic immediacy. I challenge you not to read this book in a single sitting.”—Nathaniel Philbrick, New York Times bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea and Travels with George

“In this meticulously crafted and vivid account, Evan Thomas tells the gripping and terrifying story of the last days of the Second World War in the Pacific. Writing with insight and understanding, he re-creates for us those critical moments when, for better or worse, the decisions, from the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the Japanese surrender, were made.”—Margaret MacMillan, author of War: How Conflict Shaped Us

“With an unerring eye for detail and a deft touch with the dramatic, Evan Thomas tells one of the most important stories of all time with power and grace. Paced like a thriller, replete with fresh historical insight, and driven by new research, Thomas’s book explains how America came to deploy the deadliest weapons ever created. The result is an indispensable portrait of power, anxiety, and moral ambiguity.”—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of And There Was Light

Fabulous new history and perspective on the decision to drop the bomb.

I’ve read many histories of this period. Road to Surrender had a considerable amount of story and facts I had never seen elsewhere. Fabulous exposition and story telling, with keen insights. This book has changed my opinion of the decision to drop the bomb and busted several misconceptions I had about this critical period. Highly recommend and a quick read.

Loved it

Would make a great movie if thoughtfully done. A good analysis of why the bombs were dropped. My father, a WWII veteran with the prospect of embarking on the Japan campaign, told me many times during his life how grateful he was that the bombs were dropped ending the war.

A thorough examination of the war's

This book was meticulously researched. it provides clear proof that the US could not have ended the war with Japan without dropping the two atomic bombs. The next book should be how the bushido and military culture in Japan, which had existed for centuries, was essentially wiped out during the American occupation.

A Fresh Look At The End of WWII

Evan Thomas has once again written superb, well-researched history that gives fresh perspectives on the dropping on Japan of first Atomic bombs. With new research from diaries and correspondence from three key figures in the events leading to Japan's surrender, he provides compelling support for the decisions to use the dropping of the Atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to move the Emperor to surrender.

Excellent

Well-written and well-narrated. I flew through this and really enjoyed it, particularly the look into the Japanese decision-makers and the dynamics there.

Answers some basic questions

Why was there no demonstration bomb? Why was a second bomb needed, especially so soon after the first? Road to Surrender clearly answers these and other questions.

Objective review based on reality

This is not a rah-rah defensive book of excuses. This is an objective look at the WHY things were and were not done. And it looks at what could and could not have been done during those years of evil. It is a look behind the news and history stories of who these leaders really were and what was, realistically, possible.

An excellent glimpse into the minds of the decision makers.

Never before have I read something that really got you into the thinking of the Japanese leader ship and various Americans, including the state department just at the end of World War II in Japan the dropping of a bomb everything in this context makes it understandable. Excellent book highly recommended.

road to surrender

I absolutely learned a lot about the war and how it ended. I need 3 more words

Very thorough…

… And told from a unique angle. This book shows that those of us who second-guess the awful dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan are hopelessly naive. Even Thomas gives a soul to leaders on both sides of the conflict. And Robert Fass gives a dignified narration worthy of this serious and excellent book.