Recommended reading on post-World War II Japan and the American Occupation:
Dower, John W., Embracing Defeat, New York, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1999
Recommended readings on the experience of World War II fire bombings; the atomic bombing of Japan:
Grayling, A. C., Among the Dead Cities: The history and moral legacy of the WWII bombing of civilians in Germany and Japan, New York, Walker Publishing, 2006;
Hersey, John, Hiroshima, New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1946;
Friedrich, Jörg, The Fire: The bombing of Germany 1940-1945, New York, Columbia University Press, 2006;
Nossack, Hans Erich, The End: Hamburg 1943, Chicago and London, The University of Chicago Press, 2004
Recommended viewings on the experience of World War II in Japan:
Mori, Masaki, Barefoot Gen, (Hadashi no Gen), Nakano,Japan, Madhouse Studios, 1983;
Takahata, Isao, Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka), Tokyo, Japan, Studio Ghibli, 1988
Some recently published (2015), related articles:
On the atomic bomb's influence on anime and manga:
http://theconversation.com/the-deep-influence-of-the-a-bomb-on-anime-and-manga-45275
On Emperor Akihito's apology for Japan's role during WWII:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/world/asia/emperor-akihito-expresses-deep-remorse-for-japans-role-in-world-war-ii.html?_r=0
On the anniversary of the fire-bombing of Tokyo:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31809257
On nuclear bomb testing that was conducted on July 16, 1945 in New Mexico:
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-first-light-of-the-trinity-atomic-test
On John Hersey's Hiroshima:
http://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/john-herseys-hiroshima-now-online
On the bombing of Nagasaki:
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/nagasaki-the-last-bomb
On Japan's failed plans to build an atomic bomb during WWII:
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-japan-bomb-20150805-story.html#page=1
On the effects of radiation in Japan after WWII:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0809-southard-atomic-bomb-survivors-20150806-story.html
For those interested in the experience of sustained bombings during World War II, here are some titles I came across regarding the Blitz/Blitzkrieg (the bombing of the U. K. by Nazi Germany). Thank you, OllieRedfern for the inspiration!:
Gardiner, Julie, The Blitz: The British Under Attack, HarperCollins Publishers, 2011
Harris, Carol, Blitz Diary: Life Under Fire in World War II, The History Press, 2010
Mortimer, Gavin, Blitz: An Illustrated History, Osprey Publishing, 2010;
Regarding Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, there are over 12,000 titles available on this subject. Since Forged In Fire is about one civilian's experience of sustained bombing during World War II -- a subject that has not been widely written about -- effort has been made to include related titles in this chapter for further exploration.
p.s.
On a slightly related topic, I just recently received a copy of the following book from my sister and her husband:
Nimura, Janice P., Daughters of the Samurai, New York and London, W. W. Norton & Company, 2015
For those who may be interested in the story of the Japanese war brides, there is a film on the topic that has been released this year:
http://www.fallsevengetupeight.com/index.html
YOU ARE READING
Forged In Fire: Stories of wartime Japan
Non-FictionForged In Fire is the true story of a young girl's childhood in pre-WW II Tokyo; her schoolgirl dreams; the violence, starvation and desperation of wartime that drove her family out of the city; and the American Occupation that shaped Japan's future...
