"Giangreco has made an extremely useful work for understanding the dropping of the atomic bombs and the debates surrounding it both among decision-makers and later scholars."—Robert Clemm, Journal of Military History
"Giangreco's close analysis of these documents is thought-provoking, and makes a strong case that Truman believed dropping the bomb would save lives. Readers will come away with new insights into a world-changing event."—Publishers Weekly
"Truman and the Bomb is relevant to today's national security professionals. Giangreco delivers a highly readable account that touches on the political and military aspects of a key presidential decision during war. This momentous decision during World War II is still felt today."—Clayton K. S. Chun, Parameters
"Giangreco is a most able and indefatigable military historian who has made important contributions to the long-running debate over the use of the atomic bombs in August 1945. . . . The book should be essential reading for anyone who enters that debate in the future."—Wilson D. Miscamble, Missouri Historical Review
“D. M. Giangreco’s sweeping critique of revisionist interpretations of President Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan is certain to stir renewed controversy. Giangreco vividly recreates the passion and emotion of the summer of 1945 in a first-rate account of the decision to use the weapon and the postwar historiography surrounding its use. Relying on documentary evidence, he highlights the stark difference between accuracy and opinion in historical writing.”—Edward J. Drea, author of Japan’s Imperial Army: Its Rise and Fall
“Those who continue to cling to the belief that there was another way forward than dropping the atomic bombs, and who wish to retain their intellectual integrity, must read this book. D. M. Giangreco continues to lean on the stake driven through the heart of obsolete arguments from the 1960s antiwar movement, popular culture, and 1980s antinuclear academia that continue to reach out from the grave today.”—Sean M. Maloney, author of Emergency War Plan: The American Doomsday Machine, 1945–1960
“[D. M. Giangreco has] demolished the claim that President Truman’s high casualty estimates were a postwar invention.”—Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
“Dennis Giangreco has rendered obsolete most of what has been written on the subject.”—Robert James Maddox, professor emeritus of history at Pennsylvania State University and author of key books and articles on the history of the atomic bomb and American foreign policy
