Examines the era of World War II from the perspective of moral considerations and their implications as they reflect military action on every level, reassessing such issues as the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the use of the atomic bomb.

Product Description: Air warfare was a decisive component of World War II, especially in western Europe and over Japan, where Allied bombers damaged 66 of the country's largest cities. The guts and glory of the bomber crews came, however, with a high casualty rate which had only improved marginally by the war's end...read more

"Two world wars, concentration camps, the obliteration of Hiroshima andNagasaki, and continued preparations for nuclear war illustrate the modernworld's propensity for mass destruction. . . . Yet there have beenimportant signs of resistance to this trend. These have included not onlythe emergence of mass-based peace and disarmament movements but activistintellectuals grappling with the growing problem posed by mass violenceamong nation-states. . . . Bess examines the lives and ideas of four ofthese intellectuals: Leo Szilard of Hungary and (later) the United States,E. P. Thompson of England, Danilo Dolci of Italy, and Louise Weiss ofFrance. . . . Realism, Utopia, and the Mushroom Cloud is a powerful,important scholarly work, casting new light upon some of the great issuesof modern times. Readers will learn much from it."—Lawrence S.Wittner, Peace and Change"Bess seeks to understand the way in which the creation of the atomic bombhas changed the social and political situation of humankind. Are we to beheld hostage by military forces or can we transform our situation? Hedescribes the lives of four very different activists, each with differentviews on what causes conflict and how best to address conflict. . . .Overall, this book offers an interesting perspective on life after theatomic bomb. . . . In asking ourselves what the possibilities of our futureare, we can turn to these lives for some guidance. . . . This book isinformative, provocative, and encourages one to consider carefully how s/hechooses to live."—Erin McKenna, Utopian Studies"These four lives, researched and skillfully presented by historian MichaelBess, make fascinating stories in themselves. They also serve as usefulvehicles for examining major cross-currents of Cold War resistance. . . .From Weiss the cynical pragmatist to Szilard the high-level fixer tohompson the social reformer to Dolce the spiritual street organizer,Michael Bess has woven an illuminating tapestry of human efforts to copewith life under the mushroom cloud."—Samuel H. Day Jr., The Progressive