Boyer, By The Bomb's Early Light - American Thought And Culture At The Dawn Of The Atomic Age

Abstract

The reissue of Boyer's study of America's initial encounter with the atomic bomb provides teachers with an excellent source for helping today's students understand the profound impact of the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, on American society. More than that, Boyer provides insights into the cycles of "political activism and cultural attention" alternating with periods of "political apathy and cultural neglect'' that characterize America's uneasy relationship with nuclear weapons.