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90 Seconds to Midnight: A Hiroshima Survivor's Nuclear Odyssey
90 Seconds to Midnight tells the gripping and thought-provoking story of Setsuko Nakamura Thurlow, a thirteen-year-old girl living in Hiroshima in 1945, when the city was annihilated by an atomic bomb, and her ensuing quest to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
360 pages, Hardcover
Published June 1, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 6, 2026
90 Seconds to Midnight: A Hiroshima Survivor's Nuclear Odyssey
is a difficult read. At the heart of this narrative is Setsuko Nakamura's lifelong experience recounting, reliving, remembering the day the US bombed Hiroshima. She was 13-years old and beginning her first day at a new job in August 1945 with her 29 classmates. A flash, a feeling of floating and then passing out. When she came to, and followed the light to crawl her way out, she and one other of her classmates survived.
Three hundred and sixty uncomfortable terrifying pages. But should be required reading if you are living in this dangerous world. Setsuko Nakamura Thurlow is a hero, but one uniquely placed to pass her message to the next generation of those who can carry her message forward - "Humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist."
*A sincere thank you to Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs, University of Nebraska Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #90SecondstoMidnight #NetGalley 26|52:48a
Three hundred and sixty uncomfortable terrifying pages. But should be required reading if you are living in this dangerous world. Setsuko Nakamura Thurlow is a hero, but one uniquely placed to pass her message to the next generation of those who can carry her message forward - "Humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist."
*A sincere thank you to Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs, University of Nebraska Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #90SecondstoMidnight #NetGalley 26|52:48a
August 2, 2025
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨ (4.5 stars)
90 Seconds to Midnight is an unforgettable portrait of resilience, activism, and the human cost of nuclear warfare. Charlotte Jacobs tells the extraordinary story of Setsuko Nakamura Thurlow—just thirteen when she survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima—and does so with both emotional intensity and historical clarity.
What makes this book stand out is how deeply personal it is. Through Thurlow’s eyes, we don’t just witness history—we feel it. Her loss, her fury, and ultimately, her unshakable resolve are all captured in vivid, haunting detail. And yet, it’s not just a story of tragedy. It’s a story of a girl who emerged from the ashes to become the conscience of the anti-nuclear movement—whose voice helped shape global treaties and whose courage inspired generations.
Jacobs weaves historical fact with emotional storytelling in a way that feels both deeply respectful and profoundly moving. I found myself heartbroken by what Thurlow endured, and at the same time awed by what she built from it: a lifelong mission to protect humanity from repeating the unthinkable.
This book should be required reading for anyone interested in history, peace activism, or the extraordinary strength of a single voice determined to be heard.
90 Seconds to Midnight is an unforgettable portrait of resilience, activism, and the human cost of nuclear warfare. Charlotte Jacobs tells the extraordinary story of Setsuko Nakamura Thurlow—just thirteen when she survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima—and does so with both emotional intensity and historical clarity.
What makes this book stand out is how deeply personal it is. Through Thurlow’s eyes, we don’t just witness history—we feel it. Her loss, her fury, and ultimately, her unshakable resolve are all captured in vivid, haunting detail. And yet, it’s not just a story of tragedy. It’s a story of a girl who emerged from the ashes to become the conscience of the anti-nuclear movement—whose voice helped shape global treaties and whose courage inspired generations.
Jacobs weaves historical fact with emotional storytelling in a way that feels both deeply respectful and profoundly moving. I found myself heartbroken by what Thurlow endured, and at the same time awed by what she built from it: a lifelong mission to protect humanity from repeating the unthinkable.
This book should be required reading for anyone interested in history, peace activism, or the extraordinary strength of a single voice determined to be heard.
July 28, 2025
This book tells the inspiring story of Setsuko Thurlow (née Nakamura), who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as a girl and became one of the world's leading advocates for nuclear disarmament—work that in 2017 led to a Nobel Peace Prize.
On one level, this is a tale of human triumph, whose protagonist transforms the most horrific experience imaginable into a quest to banish the specter of its repetition. It's also a story of human folly: our leaders' stubborn refusal to give up the weapons that could incinerate millions at the push of a button. (If you believe in the "deterrence" argument, your opinion may well change by the time you're done reading.) But above all, it's a narrative of hope, showing how the work of a determined individual, in concert with many others, can bend the arc of history toward sanity.
Moving, sensitively written, and grounded in exhaustive historical research, "90 Seconds to Midnight" is an eloquent tribute to a heroine whose odyssey should be much better known.
On one level, this is a tale of human triumph, whose protagonist transforms the most horrific experience imaginable into a quest to banish the specter of its repetition. It's also a story of human folly: our leaders' stubborn refusal to give up the weapons that could incinerate millions at the push of a button. (If you believe in the "deterrence" argument, your opinion may well change by the time you're done reading.) But above all, it's a narrative of hope, showing how the work of a determined individual, in concert with many others, can bend the arc of history toward sanity.
Moving, sensitively written, and grounded in exhaustive historical research, "90 Seconds to Midnight" is an eloquent tribute to a heroine whose odyssey should be much better known.
January 16, 2026
3.5⭐️s. The book itself had good information, however, I was expecting a historical book centering around WW2 and the bombing in Japan and the aftermath from a survivor’s perspective. Setsuko Thurlow is certainly inspiring in how she persevered despite the horrific events of the atomic bomb, and how she turned it into her mission.
But about 60% of the book was actually about Setsuko Thurlow’s campaign to abolish nuclear weapons in every country’s government and the overall political process of nuclear weapon arguments.
While I don’t disagree with her in the least, the book was essentially a political science focus, and much less so ww2 historical, and is a genre and subject I was not interested in. I wish the description of the book had detailed that.
But about 60% of the book was actually about Setsuko Thurlow’s campaign to abolish nuclear weapons in every country’s government and the overall political process of nuclear weapon arguments.
While I don’t disagree with her in the least, the book was essentially a political science focus, and much less so ww2 historical, and is a genre and subject I was not interested in. I wish the description of the book had detailed that.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews