A well written book about a little-known chapter of the US bombing of Hiroshima. Having read John Hershey's book and other material about the atomic bombings, I appreciated getting to know more about how some of the survivors fared, and was glad that their were some in the US who helped ease their suffering a little. ( )

Hiroshima Maidens, Rodney Barker

8:15 a.m., August 6, 1945 the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Barker presents the lives of twenty-five young woman, who were school girls when the bomb fall, and collectively became know as the Hiroshima Maidens. They travelled to New York City in 1955 for plastic surgery to free their arms from fixed positions and to undergo skin grafts to repair damage to their face, neck and arms. Major Japanese American commitment supported the project with funding, free medical aid, billeting by the Quakers and over all support for the twelve to eighteen months the women were in the United States. Barker follows the women and their lives, successes and failures through to the early 1980's. His family had a personal connection as one of the young women stayed in their home and was a big sister to him.
This book presents a different side of the bombing, and war in that it's focus is the suffering of civilians and the on going impact it has on their lives. There were numerous attempts to draw the women into discussion of their views of the United States' use of the bomb to end the war and possible future use. It was not part of the group's role to politizies their experiences, although some spoke out individually later in life.
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Reviewed 2017 ( )

Hiroshima Maidens gives a brief description of the events of the day the bomb was dropped, in a similar style to John Hersey's Hiroshima (indeed, some of the people involved in the Hiroshima Maidens story were interviewed for Hersey's book). The book focuses on a group of young women who were permanently physically scarred by the bomb. It follows the amazing story of their trip to America 10 years after the bomb to have plastic surgery to restore not only their faces but the movement in their hands and arms.

The book is at times highly critical of the media attention the story received both then and now, and even takes a few potshots at some of the organisers of the trip and some of the doctors involved. It's hard to know how much of the story is completely accurate, as the author did not have access to everyone involved and there do seem to be some moments of bias. It's also occasionally patronising and very dismissive of the people in Hiroshima who were working to make a better life for hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors).

Despite these shortcomings, the story is fascinating, and it focuses on the importance of follow-up after a grand charitable gesture. The purpose of the surgery was to allow the women to resume normal lives and become self-sufficient, and it shows that the surgery was only one step in what would be a long hard process for women who had missed out on 10 years of their lives.

Overall it was a worthwhile read, and certainly one I would recommend to anyone interested in hibakusha and the long term personal consequences of nuclear warfare.