紐約時報每周書介"二戰專題"：Books Update: The Good War

 The Good War 是1984年出版的一本二戰口述史的書名。

to have had a good warin British English

to have made the most of the opportunities presented to one during wartime

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_War

Dear Reader,

This month is the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, marked by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and then on Aug. 15, 1945, V-J Day. As is so often the case, publishers have released over the course of the last few months a number of books by historians and other writers re-examining the events of the period and their enduring legacy. In this special themed issue, we review the most noteworthy of those titles.

Several reviews stand out in particular. William Langewiesche, a writer at large for The Times Magazine, reviews the new book by Lesley M.M. Blume, “Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-Up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World.” The book traces the story behind John Hersey’s enduring work of investigative narrative journalism “Hiroshima,” which Blume joins me on the podcast this week to discuss.

Timothy Snyder, the best-selling author of “On Tyranny,” among other books, reviews Roger Moorhouse’s “Poland 1939,” about the outbreak of the war; Jay Winik reviews Chris Wallace’s best seller, “Countdown 1945,” written with Mitch Weiss; and Scott Anderson, author of “Lawrence in Arabia,” among other books, reviews Jennet Conant’s “The Great Secret: The Classified World War II Disaster That Launched the War on Cancer.”

There’s so much more in this issue, each book covering a different angle of the war, that we worried about being able to fit it all in. We hope it will be enough to sate your own curiosity and reading needs on a subject that, should it not interest you already, hopefully will by the time you read through this issue.

Please stay in touch and let us know what you think — whether it’s about this newsletter, our reviews, our podcast, our literary calendar, our Instagram or what you’re reading. We read and ponder all of it. I even write back, albeit belatedly. You can email me at books@nytimes.com.

Pamela Paul

Editor of The New York Times Book Review

@PamelaPaulNYT

THE BOOK REVIEW PODCAST Kurt Andersen on ‘Evil Geniuses’ Andersen talks about his new book, and Lesley M.M. Blume discusses “Fallout.”

FICTION Fiction A Former Soldier Tells His Grandson: ‘I Wasn’t a Nazi.’ In his debut novel, “We Germans,” Alexander Starritt considers the weight of shame. By Georgia Hunter The Shortlist Boundary-Pushing Books for Fans of Narrative Experiments “Natural History,” “Avoid the Day,” “Crossings” and “Little Scratch” offer literary puzzle boxes and formal feats. By Dustin Illingworth

NONFICTION Nonfiction Experiencing War Far From the Battlefield Two new books look at World War II from the perspectives of outsiders on the fringes of conflict. By Thomas E. Ricks Nonfiction The Debate to Use Atomic Bombs Against Japan Marc Gallicchio’s “Unconditional” details debates in both Japan and the United States to end World War II. By Richard J. Samuels Nonfiction The Reporter Who Told the World About the Bomb “Fallout,” by Lesley M.M. Blume, recounts how John Hersey revealed the devastating toll of the atomic bomb on the citizens of Hiroshima. By William Langewiesche Nonfiction A Day-by-Day Re-Creation of Truman’s Decision to Use Nuclear Weapons Chris Wallace’s “Countdown 1945” recounts in gripping detail the rush to develop the atomic bomb and the debate over whether to use it. By Jay Winik Nonfiction Remembering Poland’s Doomed Fight Against the Nazis Roger Moorhouse’s “Poland 1939” looks back at the very beginning of World War II to understand what happened and what might have happened. By Timothy Snyder Nonfiction Trying the Japanese for War Crimes Michel Paradis’s “Last Mission to Tokyo” explores the injustices and ironies of war crimes trials by looking at one example from postwar Japan. By Gary J. Bass Nonfiction Hitler and the Holocaust In the second volume of his biography, “Hitler: Downfall, 1939-1945,” Volker Ullrich examines the central role of Hitler in the extermination of the Jews. By Peter Fritzsche A Woman Who Resisted the Japanese Military Robert J. Mrazek’s “The Indomitable Florence Finch” is the story of a Filipino woman who saved American lives, survived torture and lived to be 101. By Tara McKelvey

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Nonfiction How the U.S. Won the War Against Japan Ian W. Toll’s “Twilight of the Gods,” the third volume of a trilogy, details the American triumph in the Pacific War. By Mark Perry The Herculean Effort to Build an American Army Paul Dickson’s “The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940-1941” tells the remarkable story of how the United States created an effective military from scratch. By Risa Brooks Nonfiction How Hitler Took the World Into War Benjamin Carter Hett’s “The Nazi Menace” examines the path to World War II and German responsibility. By Fredrik Logevall Nonfiction Britain and the U.S.: A Forced and Unequal Marriage “The Churchill Complex,” by Ian Buruma, examines the invented kinship of Anglo-American relations since World War II. By Benjamin Schwarz Nonfiction A Forgotten Town at the Center of the Manhattan Project In “The Apocalypse Factory,” Steve Olson tells the story of Hanford, a small rural town in Washington State that played an outsize role in America’s nuclear ambitions. By Denise Kiernan Nonfiction War — What Is It Good For? Chemotherapy, Apparently In “The Great Secret,” Jennet Conant argues that the 1943 bombing of a ship full of mustard gas helped spur research into cancer treatments. By Scott Anderson