Hiroshima, 8:15: The Lost Memoir

一位核爆倖存者全新發現的廣島轟炸及其餘波的第一手記述——為我們對這起改變世界之事件的理解，帶來了空前的臨場感。

「一個令人震驚的歷史發現，也是一份令人心碎的證言。」——凱·柏德（Kai Bird），普立茲獎得獎作《奧本海默》（American Prometheus）共同作者

1945年8月6日早晨大約8點15分，谷本清正在廣島市郊，此時天空中的一道閃光，標誌著一個令人毛骨悚然的新世界誕生。剎那間，數以萬計的廣島居民被蒸發或被壓死。

當36歲的循道衛理公會牧師谷本清奔回市中心尋找他的妻子和襁褓中的女兒時，他遇到了難以想像的毀滅慘景：建築物被夷為平地；到處都是烈火；無數傷者遭受著燒傷、骨折以及輻射的影響。在這場史無前例的人道主義災難發生後的幾天、幾週和幾個月裡，他全身心投入（投入了肉體與靈魂）幫助活下來的教區居民獲取食物、避難所和醫療照顧，並以盡可能尊嚴的方式，去確認罹難者的身分並予以安葬。他致力於重建的不仅是他的教堂，還有他的城市和他的國家。

谷本清後來因作為約翰·赫西（John Hersey）發表於《紐約客》的文章及書籍《廣島》中所描寫的倖存者之一而聲名大噪，該作改變了美國公眾對這起事件的理解。但谷本清也寫下了他自己的故事。《廣島，8:15》是谷本清從未發表過、在核爆剛結束後隨即以他自己的語言所寫下的廣島轟炸第一手記述。

這部獨一無二的回憶錄，既是對歷史記錄無價的補充，也是對降臨在人類身上的最慘烈災難之一所做的緊迫目擊證言。在核戰爭威脅依然隱約籠罩的時代，谷本清所傳達的和平訊息，以及他對人類走向更好未來的願景，具有至關重要的意義。

A newly discovered firsthand account of the Hiroshima bombing and its aftermath from one of the survivors—bringing unprecedented immediacy to our understanding of this world-changing event.

“A stunning historical discovery and a heartrending testimony.” —Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize–winning coauthor of American Prometheus

At approximately 8:15 on the morning of August 6, 1945, Kiyoshi Tanimoto was on the outskirts of Hiroshima when a flash in the sky signaled the birth of a horrifying new world. In an instant, tens of thousands of Hiroshima residents had been vaporized or crushed to death.

As Tanimoto, a thirty-six-year-old Methodist minister, raced back to the city center in search of his wife and infant daughter, he encountered unimaginable devastation: structures leveled; fires everywhere; uncountable injured suffering from burns, broken bones, and the effects of radiation. In the days, weeks, and months that followed this unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, he invested body and soul in helping his living congregants obtain food, shelter, and medical care, as well as identifying and burying with as much dignity as possible those who had perished. He dedicated himself to rebuilding not only his church, but his city and his nation.

Tanimoto went on to gain renown as one of the survivors featured in John Hersey’s New Yorker piece and book, Hiroshima, which changed the American public’s understanding of the event. But Tanimoto also wrote his own story. Hiroshima, 8:15 is Tanimoto’s never-before-published firsthand account of the bombing of Hiroshima, written in the immediate aftermath, in his own words.

This singular memoir is both an invaluable addition to the historical record and an urgent eyewitness testimony of one of the most calamitous events to befall humanity. At a time when the threat of nuclear war still looms, Tanimoto’s message of peace, and his vision of a better path forward for humankind, is of vital importance.