The Most Awful Responsibility
Truman and the Secret Struggle for Control of the Atomic Age
Alex Wellerstein . 2025 . 21+408 pages . 355.0217 WEL . Beaverton Lib
pxi . Introduction
p001 . ch01 - "It Was Very Clear That He Knew Little of the Task into Which He Was Stepping"
- p006
- p009
p016 . ch02 - "Modern Civilization Might Be Completely Destroyed"
- p018
- p018
- p025
p026 . ch03 - "A Blanket of Fire"
- p026
p035 . ch04 - "A Decision Not to Upset the Existing Plans"
- p035
- p037
- p038
- p039
- p041
p049 . ch05 - "A Profound Psychological Impression"
- p056
p058 . ch06 - "It Makes Presiding Over the Senate Seem Tame"
- p067
p072 . ch07 - "The Target Will Be a Purely Military One"
- p074
- p076
- p077
- p079
p081 . ch08 - "The Greatest Thing in History"
- p096
- p097
p098 . ch09 - "The Thought of Wiping Out Another 100,000 People Was Too Horrible"
- p099
- p104
- p105
- p106
p108 . ch10 - "It Is a Dangerous Thing to Just Give Them the Power and Hope That They Will Not Take Advantage of It"
- p109
- p120
p126 . ch11 - "I Told Him the Blood Was on My Hands"
- p127
- p130
- p131
p140 . ch12 - "The Battle of the Atom Still Goes On"
- p141
- p143
- p144
- p147
- p149
- p150
p152 . ch13 - "It is Quite Possible to Depopulate Vast Areas of the Earth's Surface"
- p152
- p153
- p154
- p154
- p155
- p156
- p155
- p158
- p159
- p159
p162 . ch14 - "If We Aren't Going to Use Them, That Doesn't Make Any Sense"
- p162
- p163
- p163
- p165
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- p169
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- p174
- p175
p176 . ch15 - "An Atomic Explosion Occurred in the Central USSR"
- p179
- p180
- p181
- p184
- p187
- p187
p189 . ch16 - "A Weapon That Will Kill Ten Million People"
- p189
- p191
- p202
p208 . ch17 - "We Are in a Hell of a Mess"
- p209
- p213
- p217
p221 . ch18 - "A Play Actor and a Bunko Man"
p230 . ch19 - "I Assume He Told Someone"
p241 . ch20 - "That Includes Every Weapon That We Have"
- p243
- p249
p254 . ch21 - "The Enemy Could Not Have Marched Across That Radiated Belt"
- p261
p262 . ch22 - "Charting A Course From Which We Cannot Turn"
- p268
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- p270
- p271
- p276
- p279
- p280
- p281
p282 . ch23 - "We Devoutly Hoped That They Would Not Have to Be Used"
- p283
- p298
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- p301
p306 . Conclusion
- p313
- p317
- p318
- p319
p321 . Acknowledgements
- p324
p323 . Notes
p377 . Bibliography
p391 . Index