In its diversity of perspectives, The Unfinished Atomic Bomb: Shadows
and Reflections is testament to the ways in which contemplations of the
A-bomb are endlessly shifting, rarely fixed on the same point or
perspective. The compilation of this book is significant in this regard,
offering Japanese, American, Australian, and European perspectives. In
doing so, the essays here represent a complex series of interpretations
of the bombing of Hiroshima, and its implications both for history, and
for the present day. From Kuznick's extensive biographical account of
the Hiroshima bomb pilot, Paul Tibbets, and contentious questions about
the moral and strategic efficacy of dropping the A-bomb and how that has
resonated through time, to Jacobs' reflections on the different ways in
which Hiroshima and its memorialization are experienced today, each
chapter considers how this moment in time emerges, persistently, in
public and cultural consciousness. The discussions here are often
difficult, sometimes controversial, and at times oppositional,
reflecting the characteristics of A-bomb scholarship more broadly. The
aim is to explore the various ways in which Hiroshima is remembered, but
also to consider the ongoing legacy and impact of atomic warfare, the
reverberations of which remain powerfully felt.
