Hiroshima

As a single American bomber flies high over the quiet city of Hiroshima, the air-raid warning sounds as it has too many times before, and 12-year-old Sachi heads for cover. When the B-29 continues past, Sachi emerges. Moments later when the warning sounds again for the Enola Gay, the B-29 carrying the first atomic weapon ever used in war, no one has the time or inclination to run for cover, and all, including Sachi, are caught. Trapped in the sweep of this terrible event, Sachi and her story are woven into a background of information about the bomb that is both gripping and objective. The characters help to personalize this most impersonal of assaults on humanity. Runger's reading is concerned but emotionally balanced, a good mix for a book that is as much facts as narrative. His almost objective tone, faithful to Yep's intention, leaves all judgment to the reader, thus serving as a good introduction to the nuclear age for listeners of all ages. P.E.F. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

The fates of six victims are portrayed vividly in Hersey's classic account of the first atomic bomb. This edition contains a final chapter, written 40 years later, in which Hersey follows up on these six "Hibakusha," or "explosion-affected persons." Edward Asner speaks for many characters, yet his voice is that of the Hiroshima citizen caught up in day-to-day survival. He conveys the fear, confusion, pain and resignation of individuals dealing with a cataclysmic force. With subtle, understated delivery, Asner powerfully evokes the time, place and plight of these people. J.H.L. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine