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The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman and the Secret Struggle for Control of the Atomic Age
Not yet published
Expected 9 Dec 25"I thought I knew the story but learned much that I didn’t know. Outstanding!"— Richard Rhodes
“This is historical research at its best.” — Dan Carlin
President Truman’s choice to drop the atomic bomb is the most debated decision in the 20th Century. But what if Truman’s actual decision wasn’t what everyone thinks it was?
The conventional narrative is that American leaders had a Invade Japan, which would have cost millions of Allied and Japanese lives, or instead, use the atom bomb in the hope of convincing Japan to surrender. Truman, the story goes, carefully weighed the pros and cons before deciding that the atomic bomb would be used against Japanese cities, as the lesser of two evils.
But nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein argues that is not what happened.
Not only did Truman not take part in the decision to use the bomb, but the one major decision that he did make was a very different one — one that he himself did not fully understand until after the atomic bomb was used. The weight of that decision, and that misunderstanding, became the major reason that atomic bombs have not been used again since World War II.
Based on a close reading of the historical record, The Most Awful Responsibility shows that, despite his reputation as an ardent defender of the atomic bomb,
Wanted to avoid the “murder” and “slaughter” of innocent civiliansBelieved that the atomic bomb should never be used againHoped that nuclear weapons would be outlawed in his lifetime
Wellerstein makes a startling case that Truman was possibly the most anti-nuclear American president of the twentieth century, but his ambitions were strongly constrained by the domestic and international politics of the postwar world and the early Cold War. This book is a must-read for all who want to truly understand not only why the bomb was dropped on Japan but also why it has not been used since.
“This is historical research at its best.” — Dan Carlin
President Truman’s choice to drop the atomic bomb is the most debated decision in the 20th Century. But what if Truman’s actual decision wasn’t what everyone thinks it was?
The conventional narrative is that American leaders had a Invade Japan, which would have cost millions of Allied and Japanese lives, or instead, use the atom bomb in the hope of convincing Japan to surrender. Truman, the story goes, carefully weighed the pros and cons before deciding that the atomic bomb would be used against Japanese cities, as the lesser of two evils.
But nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein argues that is not what happened.
Not only did Truman not take part in the decision to use the bomb, but the one major decision that he did make was a very different one — one that he himself did not fully understand until after the atomic bomb was used. The weight of that decision, and that misunderstanding, became the major reason that atomic bombs have not been used again since World War II.
Based on a close reading of the historical record, The Most Awful Responsibility shows that, despite his reputation as an ardent defender of the atomic bomb,
Wanted to avoid the “murder” and “slaughter” of innocent civiliansBelieved that the atomic bomb should never be used againHoped that nuclear weapons would be outlawed in his lifetime
Wellerstein makes a startling case that Truman was possibly the most anti-nuclear American president of the twentieth century, but his ambitions were strongly constrained by the domestic and international politics of the postwar world and the early Cold War. This book is a must-read for all who want to truly understand not only why the bomb was dropped on Japan but also why it has not been used since.
429 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication December 9, 2025
48 people want to read
About the author
Alex Wellerstein
3 books21 followersAlex Wellerstein is a historian of science at the Stevens Institute of Technology who studies the history of nuclear weapons. He is the creator of NUKEMAP.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 23, 2025
My thanks to NetGalley and Harper for an advance copy of this book that looks at one of the most momentous and world altering decisions made in this century, a decision made in haste, lacking complete information, but one that has cast a shadow over the world for the last eighty years.
The hardest decision I was ever a part of was when my family decided to remove my father from life support. We did this fully informed of the consequences, and though many offered their suggestions and ideas, the final decision came down to the three of us, my mother, my brother and I. We know this was for the best, and went forward, sad of course, but sure that we were doing the right thing. I thought of this often while reading this book. What my family did was something that really effected our lives, but again we know the options, and what the result would be. I can't imagine making a decision that basically doomed so many to die, to change the world in so many ways, without knowing everything about it. However, that seems to have happened during the dropping of the first nuclear weapons on Japan, a decision made by a president who had much on his plate, few trusted advisors, and little understanding of what was being asked of him. Though it seems he learned from his mistake, which is some comfort for the world that followed. The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman and the Secret Struggle for Control of the Atomic Age by Alex Wellerstein is a book about power, responsibility, the power of the atom, and how one man influenced the decisions behind the use of atomic power.
Harry Truman was never really the first choice for Vice President of the United States, but he was a man known for honesty, and for being a relatively decent man. This did nothing to gain him access to the President Franklin Roosevelt, who kept him at a distance, trusting his own advisors, and trusted confidents. An odd decisions as Roosevelt even to those trusted men, was a man in ill health, with a War to win. Truman knew little of what was happening in the War, the policies being thought about for after the war, and only an inkling of what was happening in the development of a superweapon that could change everything. Upon the death of Roosevelt, Truman was suddenly placed in absolute power, surrounded by the people who had kept him away from access. The decision to drop the atomic bomb was one presented to him quickly, among other meetings, a quick lesson about atom splitting, sites chosen to bomb, and what could and could not happen. Truman accepted the blame for dropping the bomb, and learned from his haste, crafting policy about the use of nuclear weapons that might have kept us from making similar mistakes.
I have read much about Truman, the second World War, and thought I knew the much about the planning and use of atomic weapons on Japan. I was wrong. This is a fascinating look at a momentous event, an event little understood by the people involved. Wellerstein is a very good writer, able to write clearly about policy, politics, the lives of the people involved and of course about the science of atom splitting. Wellerstein is a also a very good researcher, finding documents, statements, diaries and more backing his argument that Truman was kept in the dark about what Hiroshima was, Truman thought the first bomb was to be used on a military site. Wellerstein also looks at what happens next, the people that began to form nuclear policy, the civilian control and Truman's use of power to make sure that what happened, could not happen again. Especially with the proliferation of atomic weapons, that happened.
A really interesting book, one that I quite enjoyed as I learned so much. A book that made me think quite a bit about what I thought was history, and even in how decisions are made. This is the first book I have read by Alex Wellerstein, but I look forward to more.
The hardest decision I was ever a part of was when my family decided to remove my father from life support. We did this fully informed of the consequences, and though many offered their suggestions and ideas, the final decision came down to the three of us, my mother, my brother and I. We know this was for the best, and went forward, sad of course, but sure that we were doing the right thing. I thought of this often while reading this book. What my family did was something that really effected our lives, but again we know the options, and what the result would be. I can't imagine making a decision that basically doomed so many to die, to change the world in so many ways, without knowing everything about it. However, that seems to have happened during the dropping of the first nuclear weapons on Japan, a decision made by a president who had much on his plate, few trusted advisors, and little understanding of what was being asked of him. Though it seems he learned from his mistake, which is some comfort for the world that followed. The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman and the Secret Struggle for Control of the Atomic Age by Alex Wellerstein is a book about power, responsibility, the power of the atom, and how one man influenced the decisions behind the use of atomic power.
Harry Truman was never really the first choice for Vice President of the United States, but he was a man known for honesty, and for being a relatively decent man. This did nothing to gain him access to the President Franklin Roosevelt, who kept him at a distance, trusting his own advisors, and trusted confidents. An odd decisions as Roosevelt even to those trusted men, was a man in ill health, with a War to win. Truman knew little of what was happening in the War, the policies being thought about for after the war, and only an inkling of what was happening in the development of a superweapon that could change everything. Upon the death of Roosevelt, Truman was suddenly placed in absolute power, surrounded by the people who had kept him away from access. The decision to drop the atomic bomb was one presented to him quickly, among other meetings, a quick lesson about atom splitting, sites chosen to bomb, and what could and could not happen. Truman accepted the blame for dropping the bomb, and learned from his haste, crafting policy about the use of nuclear weapons that might have kept us from making similar mistakes.
I have read much about Truman, the second World War, and thought I knew the much about the planning and use of atomic weapons on Japan. I was wrong. This is a fascinating look at a momentous event, an event little understood by the people involved. Wellerstein is a very good writer, able to write clearly about policy, politics, the lives of the people involved and of course about the science of atom splitting. Wellerstein is a also a very good researcher, finding documents, statements, diaries and more backing his argument that Truman was kept in the dark about what Hiroshima was, Truman thought the first bomb was to be used on a military site. Wellerstein also looks at what happens next, the people that began to form nuclear policy, the civilian control and Truman's use of power to make sure that what happened, could not happen again. Especially with the proliferation of atomic weapons, that happened.
A really interesting book, one that I quite enjoyed as I learned so much. A book that made me think quite a bit about what I thought was history, and even in how decisions are made. This is the first book I have read by Alex Wellerstein, but I look forward to more.
November 11, 2025
"What is the measure of a civilized man?" This is the question Alex Wellerstein wrestles with in examining the history of the atomic bomb, "The Most Awful Responsibility." History tells us of Harry Truman's decision, or lack thereof, to use it against Japan and then never use it militarily again. Truman, it turns out, may have thought that Hiroshima was merely a military base and not a city. After finding out what it actually did, Truman initially wanted to jettison the remaining US stockpile into the ocean in hopes of never using them again. My thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy and I hope that in today's era of "maybe we should renew atomic testing," this book winds its way into the hands of some of the right people.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews