Truman Legacy Series, Vol. 12
Harry S. Truman’s nuclear policies and programs are probably the most significant and controversial aspects of his presidency. The essays in this volume examine Truman’s decision to use atomic weapons against Japan in 1945, one of the most contentious issues in all of American history, and the use of atomic energy after the war, both as an important weapon in the arms race of the cold war era, and as a subject for research into its applications to medicine, industry, agriculture, and power production.
In this volume, seven prominent historians offer valuable perspective on these issues, using new information from Japanese sources and a wealth of primary source material to examine the decision to use the atomic bomb, as well as important questions relating to the nuclear arms race, the benefits and hazards of radioactive isotopes, and the development of nuclear power. Many of these issues that had their origins in the Truman era are still of great importance to the world today as well as to future generations.
General Editor’s Preface ... Michael J. Devine
Introduction... J. Samuel Walker
Ending the War with Japan: The Agony of 1945 ... Richard B. Frank
Truman, Hiroshima, and the Morality of the Atomic Bomb ... Wilson D. Miscamble
On President Truman’s Use of the Atomic Bomb: Momentum, Timing, and General Groves ... Robert S. Norris
Harry S. Truman and the Origins of the Nuclear Arms Race ... Martin V. Melosi
Radioisotopes as Political Instruments from Truman to Eisenhower ... Angela N. H. Creager
Triumph and Trouble in the First Temple of the Atom: The Atomic Energy Commission and the Raleigh
Research Reactor... Thomas R. Wellock
The Decision to Drop the Bomb and Truman’s Nuclear Legacy: Concluding Remarks ... William Lanouette
Nuclear Energy and the Legacy of Harry S. Truman: A Graphic Essay ... Randy Sowell
This edited volume explores the complex nuclear legacy of Missouri's presidential native son...The essays work together unusually well for an edited volume, with many complementing each other while still presenting a variety of different perspectives...Historians of World War II, the Cold War, nuclear technology, and modern American history in general will likely find much to like about this coherent and cohesive collection of excellent essays.
—Jeff Schramm, Missouri Historical Review, July 2016
"...Nuclear Energy and the Legacy of Harry S. Truman is a model of erudite and seminal scholarship with the contributor's articles being presented in a roughly chronological order of events from 1945 to 1950. An essential and core addition to academic library collections..."
—Able Greenspan, Midwest Book Review, April 2016