90 Seconds to Midnight
A Hiroshima Survivor's Nuclear Odyssey

By (author) Charlotte Jacobs

ISBN13: 9781640126305

Imprint: Potomac Books Inc

Publisher: Potomac Books Inc

Format: Hardback

Published: 01/06/2025

Availability: Not yet available

Description
90 Seconds to Midnight tells the gripping and thought-provoking story of Setsuko Nakamura Thurlow, a thirteen-year-old girl living in Hiroshima in 1945, when the city was annihilated by an atomic bomb. Struggling with grief and anger, Thurlow set out to warn the world about the horrors of a nuclear attack in a crusade that has lasted seven decades. In 2015 Thurlow sparked a rallying cry for activists when she proclaimed at the United Nations, “Humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist.” With that, she shifted the global discussion from nuclear deterrence to humanitarian consequences, the key in crafting the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Regarded as the conscience of the antinuclear movement, Thurlow accepted the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. With the fate of humanity at stake and with the resolve of her samurai ancestors, Thurlow challenged leaders of the nuclear-armed states. On January 22, 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons went into effect, banning nuclear weapons under international law. Critical historical events need a personal narrative, and Thurlow is such a storyteller for Hiroshima. 90 Seconds to Midnight recounts Thurlow’s ascent from the netherworld where she saw, heard, and smelled death and her relentless efforts to protect the world from an unspeakable fate. Knowing she would have to live with those nightmares, Thurlow turned them into a force to impel people across the globe to learn from Hiroshima, to admit that yes, it could happen again—and then to take action.
List of Illustrations Abbreviations, Notes on Japanese Names Prologue   Part I: Before Chapter 1. The Heart of a Samurai Chapter 2. A Cherry Blossom Life Chapter 3. Raising the Flag of the Rising Sun Chapter 4. August 6, 1945   Part II: After Chapter 5. Necropolis Chapter 6. Life Among the Ruins Chapter 7. Occupied Chapter 8. Where Was God on August 6? Chapter 9. Born to Serve Chapter 10. Falling in Love in Bibai   Part III: The Quest Chapter 11. Crossing Borders Chapter 12. Blood on Our Hands Chapter 13. In the Interim Chapter 14. Witness Chapter 15. Watchman Chapter 16. Indifference Is Not an Option Chapter 17. Reframing the Narrative Chapter 18. The Point of No Return Chapter 19. Confronting Truman Chapter 20. Moving Toward Zero Chapter 21. The Nerve of Moral Indignation Chapter 22. Glory Chapter 23. The Road to Ratification Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index
  • Military history
  • Asian history
  • Nuclear weapons
  • General (US: Trade)
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List Price: £28.99