Surviving Hiroshima: A Young Woman's Story

by Anthony Drago, Douglas Wellman

On August 6, 1945, 22-year-old Kaleria Pachikoff was doing pre-breakfast chores when a blinding flash lit the sky over Hiroshima, Japan. A moment later, everything went black as the house collapsed on her and her family. Their world, and everyone else's, changed as the first atomic bomb was detonated over a city.

From Russian nobility, the Palchikoff's barely escaped death at the hands of Bolshevik revolutionaries until her father, a White Russian officer, hijacked a ship to take them to safety in Hiroshima. Safety was short lived. Her father, a talented musician, established a new life for the family, but the outbreak of World War II created a cloud of suspicion that led to his imprisonment and years of deprivation for his family.

After the bombing, trapped in the center of previously unimagined devastation, Kaleria summoned her strength to come to the aid of bomb victims, treating the never-before seen effects of radiation.

Fluent in English, Kaleria was soon recruited to work with Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s occupation forces in a number of secretarial positions until the family found a new life in the United States.

Heavily based on quotes from Kaleria's memoirs written immediately after World War II, and transcripts of United States Army Air Force interviews with her, her story is an emotional, and sometime chilling, story of courage and survival in the face of one of history’s greatest catastrophes.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, War, Japan, Memoir, World War II

297 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2020

About the author

Anthony "Tony" Drago was born in Camden, New Jersey and spent much of his early childhood at his paternal grandparents Italian grocery store. His school years were spent in Los Angeles, California which is when he began to realize he was the only child bringing seaweed & rice to school instead of peanut butter & jelly.

From a young age, his mother, Kaleria Palchikoff Drago, would tell him the captivating story of her journey from Russia, to Japan, and then to the United States. It created Tony's foundation for his love of history -- especially his family's history--bringing him to write his first book, Surviving Hiroshima: A Young Woman's Story.

Tony is a former Public Safety Officer who spent his twenty-five year career serving the community of Sunnyvale, California as both a firefighter and police officer. After retiring in 2006, he doubled down on his passions -- flying his airplane, restoring his classic car, and traveling the world with his wife, Kathy.

He has two brothers, Mark and Paul Drago, who reside in Long Beach, California.

Tony and Kathy have been married for forty-five years. They have three adult children and enjoy spending their days on the beach in their hometown of Carmel, California with their eight grandchildren and dogs, Tug and Maggie.

Reviews

[David Canford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an account of the author’s mother’s incredible life. Fleeing Russia with her family as a baby, she is brought up in Japan and survives the atomic bomb. Interspersed with her story is the factual history of the war against Japan. I was fascinated by it all but disappointed there wasn’t more about her every day life in Japan and Japanese culture. I can only imagine that’s because the record of what survives of her experience is limited.

[David Berlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning story in Surviving Hiroshima is fascinating. The Palchikoff’s are an aristocratic family that are living a happy life in Czarist Russia. In the mid to late 1800s is considered the Golden Age of Arts in Russia. It’s the age of Anton Chekov, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and Tchaikovsky.

WW1 happens which causes death, food shortages, and economic misery. The popularity of the Czar goes to unpopular to full out revolution. Lenin and the Bolsheviks rise. Soldiers begin to mutiny. The Czar and his family are executed. The aristocrats and the white army are running for their lives. Sergei Palchikoff and some of his comrades surrender to Japanese officials and seek asylum in Japan and they become refugees and try to make a go of it in Japan, landing in Hiroshima in 1923.

To me this is a fascinating beginning. Talk about surviving bad luck. This family survived two of the most historic events in the first half of the 20th century. But after this engaging beginning, the book really fell short. I thought the cover of the book is very deceptive with the title “Surviving Hiroshima”. We see a white woman sitting in a kimono. This is Kaleria Palchikoff, who this book is mostly based on, co-written by her son, Anthony Drago. The reason I found it deceptive is that I thought a lot of this book would be about a white family, particularly Kaleria adapting to Japanese culture. We learn that she can speak, Russian, English, and Japanese but not much else. The Father ends up teaching music, the mother has some illnesses and is able to have three kids, but no details are given on how they adapted from Russian to Japanese culture. I did not even know there were white people in Hiroshima.

There is very little detail about the family’s life in Japan before and after the atomic bomb. Did they make many friends? Did the father understand why the Bolsheviks came to power and hated the Czar? How did they feel about Stalin, Hitler, and the Japanese Emperor? How were they perceived by Japanese people? They had a son, Nikolai that left Japan and went to UCLA and ended up fighting for America against Japan. I’m not even sure who were they rooting for in the war. After witnessing, seeing the horror, and surviving the atomic bomb, how did they feel about America using such a weapon? Any survivors guilt? Did anyone have any PTSD?

When it came to going over the major events, much of the book read like a newspaper article. This was not a very psychological book. Being that the son, is a co-author, I can understand writing favorably of his family, but I never felt like I knew anybody in the Palchikoff family, especially Kaleria. I would not recommend this book to anyone researching Hiroshima, or what is it like to be a white person in Japan. It is still amazing that the family survived and overcame such horrific events.

[Michelle Ule · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sobering true story of a Russian family who survived the atomic bomb blast over Hiroshima, Japan that led to the end of WWII.

It's a family history wrapped into an important historical moment. I'd not read anything about the events of that day, and the book's opening left me in tears.

The writing could have been tightened up and organized a little better; paragraphs tended to be too long. Another editing probably would have fixed the problems and made the book a stronger and better experience.

All the same, the story is well worth reading.

[The Ravishing Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐*
While I agree it is an important story to be told, I did not like the format in which it was told. I felt like the story jumped back and forth a lot and at times it became difficult to follow what was going on. Also the first 60% of the book was very slow and painfully hard to get through, however, eventually I pushed through and was able to get to the point of the story and I actually enjoyed reading the second half. While I would recommend this book to read, purely from a unique historical perspective, I'm more than likely not going to read it again.

[Kendell Timmers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is (thankfully) not a melodramatic rendering, but a biography of the author’s mother, a daughter of a White Russian officer who had fled to Japan and lived in Hiroshima.

Despite being partly ghost-written, the writing is not the best, but it does shed another bit of light in the experience of living through the first atomic bomb, mostly through the eyes of a young woman.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surviving Hiroshima
A Young Woman's Story
by Anthony Drago; Douglas Wellman
BQB Publishing
WriteLife Publishing
Biographies & Memoirs
Pub Date 01 Sep 2020


I am reviewing a copy of Surviving Hiroshima through BQB Publishing and Netgalley:




Twenty two year old Kaleria Palchikoff was doing pre breakfast chores onAugust 6, 1945 when a blinding flash lit the sky over Hiroshima, Japan. Just a moment later everything went dark and the house collapsed around her and her family. Her life and all around them changed drastically in that moment. From Russian nobility, the Palchikoff's barely escaped death at the hands of Bolshevik revolutionaries until her father, a White Russian officer, hijacked a ship to take them to safety in Hiroshima. Safety was short lived.




Kaleria’s Father, a talented musician was able to create a new life for his family. But after the Second World War broke out a cloud of suspicion fell over the family leading to imprisonment and and years of deprivation for his family.




Kaleria managed to summon enough strength to of bomb victims, treating the never-before seen effects of radiation. Being fluent with English Kaleria was soon recruited to work with Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s occupation forces in a number of secretarial positions until the family found a new life in the United States.





This book is heavily based on quotes from Kaleria's memoirs written immediately after World War II, as well as transcripts of United States Army Air Force interviews with her.


I give Surviving Hiroshima five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. It is a quick and easy read. The background was a bit boring, but probably wouldn't be if the reader is unfamiliar with the Russian Revolution. If you are familiar with it, you can easily skim through it.

[Cosmic Arcata · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so well written. It told the story and the history in such a understandable way. It made me cry. It gave me such love for their family and the Japanese. I am felt the courage that this family went through and the miracles that were given to them. A blessing to read.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book was really a fascinating and heartbreaking story. Thank you to BQB Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review. The first half of the book is the history leading up to Hiroshima. It was well written and very readable. Surviving Hiroshima’s main focus was the story of the author’s Mother’s life which included surviving Hiroshima. His grandparents (Russian Aristocrats) fled Russia during the Russian Civil War to Japan for a safer life. It seems every time they get their lives headed in the right direction, something always happens to set them back. This book is a stark reminder of why we need to remember our history no matter how terrible it may be. IT MUST NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN! I would certainly recommend this book to everyone - whether you are a history lover or not.

[Georgia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains a lot of history, history I did not know and enjoyed reading. It wasn’t just about WW II, as the title suggests. It goes back before the Russian revolution and explains the Russian aristocracy and their plight.
Take the time to read it for a better understanding of the time in history, as well as a true story of an interesting woman.

[Cristie Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! That is the one word that sums up this book. The author survived the first atomic bombing in the world when she was 22 and since she was the only one that could speak English had to describe in detail what she experienced, which I am sure was not easy. She came to the United States and raised a family, keeping her pain hidden. Now she is ready to tell her story and this book is a testament to her strength during a time that I cannot even imagine.

[Evelyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a terrible book. If I could give it zero stars I might have done so.

The book’s title and description misrepresent it as being an addition to the canon of tales about witnessing and surviving the atomic bomb blast in Hiroshima. It is not! In fact, it is far from that canon of work, or the canon of work describing comparable efforts to survive the Holocaust. It reads more like a bad term paper mixing together a mishmash of family legends and anecdotes with information recollected from high school history courses and a few newspaper articles. Unfortunately much of the historical information inserted is incorrect and filled with misinformation that could have been easily corrected if the authors had taken the minimal step of checking Wikipedia. The authors add insult to injury by repeating the same information multiple times throughout the book. Oftentimes, they appear to have copied and pasted it with a few changes in the verbiage.

The brief and passing reference to the bombing and subsequent events in Hiroshima consist of references to a memoir written by one author’s mother and an interview that she gave to the US Army shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. If the authors had used those documents, whose transcripts are not included in the book, as the central framework for it, and built upon by conducting some actual scholarly research and adding it to the book for context, this might have been more than what it apparently is, a vanity project that should have been distributed to family members only, and not to the general public.

If anyone wants to learn about the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and its aftermath, I would suggest reading “Hiroshima” by John Hersey, which is referenced in the section of this book describing that event. For those seeking information on life in wartime Japan, may I suggest that you read “Samurai and Silk” by Haru Reischauer, the wife of Professor Edwin Reischauer of Harvard University, who served as the US Ambassador to Japan during the administration of President John F. Kennedy. Ms. Reischauer, a journalist descended from prominent Japanese families, discusses the history of her family including life in Japan during World War II and the aftermath of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in her book. Finally, those who want to gain insights into Japanese society and culture prior to and during the Second World War should read “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” by Ruth Benedict, a cultural anthropologist who taught at Barnard College, who prepared the study for General MacArthur in preparation for the US invasion and occupation of Japan.

[Len Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a multi-faceted story.

Anthony Drago’s mother, Kaleria Palchikoff, was an infant when her aristocratic Russian family fled to Japan in the early 1920s to escape the repression of the Bolsheviks. The family settled in Hiroshima.

She and her family survived the atomic blast in August 1945 and Kaleria, as one of the only English-speaking survivors, was interviewed extensively by the U.S. Army. The account of the blast and the nightmare days that followed is told in Kaleria’s own words. It is a horrific and unimaginable tale of death and destruction. It is also an uplifting story of the strength of the human spirit and the will to survive.

After the war, Kaleria emigrated to the U.S. and built a new life for herself – raising a family in America. She buried her memories for decades. Her story and how she eventually came to terms with the day that changed the world forever is compelling.

Highly recommended.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover alone is enough to spark the reader's curiosity, and I read this book to the end in one (long) evening. It is an engrossing account of what led up to the bombing of Hiroshima, the period of the bombing, and the author's mother's life post-World War II. It is a very unique story and offers a valuable perspective. It reads smoothly and is obviously well-researched. I wish there had been even more detail about his mother's life and the rest of the family. But for the reader who isn't well-versed in the tragedy of Hiroshima, this gives a complete picture of this period during the war.
This is a book for the generations to come. Lest we forget.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Michael Ginsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent and emotional journey through the amazing life of the protagonist, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The book elegantly and seamlessly weaves the history of the war with the personal story of the protagonist and her family. It is a product of detailed family research and historical research. The ending is particularly emotional and touching. Readers who are interested in World War II, the atomic bombings, or the immigrant experience in America will all find this book captivating. I could not put it down.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remembrance is so important

It is so good to find a book filled with a history of a time we don't remember as much as we should. War is horrible, both for the victors and the victims. Pray God we do not have to repeat these lessons. An important work that should be read by everyone.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Palchikoffs were Russian nobility. They escaped being killed by the Bolsheviks. The father of the Palchikoffs was able to get a ship to take them to Japan. There they lived in Hiroshima until the atomic bomb was used causing there house to collapse on them. They were lucky in that they were able to get out of the collapsed house and started walking towards the country. The family didn’t know what could had caused so much damage. Many people were covered with wounds and burns. They saw people dead on their walk. Finally they found a cottage that agreed to let them stay at their place until mother became stronger. Though they were the first family to stay there, the cottage ended sharing with ten families. When the mother was strong enough to walk again, they walked to the empty shack the father had found for them to live in. There is so much more to tell but I hope that I have intrigued you enough to read the book.

The author has done an excellent job of showing how the atom bomb was not understood in Japan when it was used. There were many rumors about the Americans did to cause so much death and destruction. The photographs added much to this book’s story. It has certainly made the atom bomb much more “real” in what it can do. I hope that reading it, the reader will agree that atom bombs should not be used.

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I wasn’t obligated to write a favorable review or any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

[Robert F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty fast read. The back story of the family will be of interest to those who know little of the Red vs. White Russian armies and how all that came about. The struggle and stress of surviving such a wave of violent revolution must have been truely terrible. Through desperate measures and what can be described as luck, the family and other Russians fleeing the Communist takeover found their ways to various locations in the Far East and Southeast Asia. This family landed in Japan, a country that had only recently defeated the Russian Army in a regional war.

They settle in for a nice long period and assimilate as best they can to a country that was as alien to them as could be. Then comes the war with the USA. And then they get bombed at Hiroshima. The rest of this story is as astounding as what precedes it. The first hand account of an atomic bomb explosion by someone who was in the target area should be mandatory reading.

The writing style is often “as told by” and some of it is directly from official transcripts of the authors mother speaking to the Bomb Survey team that investigated the effects of the bomb after the war.

I recommend this book for what it teaches us about humanity and our capacity for both cruelty and humanity.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a little difficult to keep my interest in the beginning when he was giving the back story and history of the family but it was also a necessary part of the story. I liked that the book told what was going on with the airmen who bombed Hiroshima as well as what happened to the people on the ground, which was beyond horrific by the way. The main message was that we can never let it happen again and I agree. I'm just so grateful that it actually did end the war because it was too awful of a thing that happened to those people to have it not accomplish that at least. I was happy that Kaleria did end up accepting the invitation to return to Hiroshima in her later years and that it ended up being a good as well as a healing experience for her. I am glad that at the end, he did tell what happened to his family since they came to America because I always like to hear, "the rest of the story ".

[Yibbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story will shake you. The sheer amount of upheaval, separation, and suffering this family went through is almost overwhelming. Fleeing from the Russian Revolution put the Pachikoff family into the path of the deadliest weapon known to man. But first, they would suffer as outsiders in a nation at war. It’s a rare glimpse of daily life in Japan before, during, and just after the bomb. It puts faces to some of those that suffered so horribly at the end of the war.
The story was compiled by her son with the help of Kaleria’s memoirs, historical archives, and interviews with friends and family. This gives much of the book more of a family history feel than a personal story. But I liked that. It gave you a broader picture of what she was living through and how it was affecting her whole family.
I would strongly recommend it.

[Shana · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review*

The premise of this book is attention-grabbing, in that it revolves around Kaleria Palchikoff, a Russian young woman who survived the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and the only fluently English-speaking interviewee in its aftermath. The book is co-written by her son, who obviously had close access to the source and a strong desire to share this story. It's a perspective that is extremely unique and that is what makes this book an engaging read. I only wish that it had focused more on the experiences of Palchikoff and her family without so much historical background information, but I can also see how some people would need that in order to get a fuller picture of the time.

[Susan Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surviving Hiroshima

This is a story of great strength and fortitude. A Russian aristocratic family chased from Russia after the fall of the Czar. Hunted by the Communists they flee across Asia finally landing in Japan.
Living in Hiroshima when the Americans drop the atomic bomb they witness the worst damage and suffering inflicted by man.
The details of the injuries are harrowing as are the descriptions of what remains when a body is vaporised. Shadows are all that is left like the shape of a painter holding his brush permanently burnt into the building.
However this is a story of hope, forgiveness and healing as they move onto a new life starting in Tokyo and ending in the USA.

[Sirilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The times and events family lives through are so astounding that those alone would make an incredible book. Add to that pertinent historical facts about the war, development and decision to use the first atomic bomb, and the aftermath described by a survivor.
What makes this book so genuinely readable is the pragmatic description of events. Nothing much is exaggerated - maybe the aristocratic background a little bit. There is not much repetition that so often mars the biographies : we are told a fact or description and it is assumed that we remember it without emphasizing the same over and over again. Just that merits an extra star!

[Wes F · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read about an aristocratic Russian (White Russians) family who escaped from Russia & emigrated to Japan, between WWI & WWII, settling in the city of Hiroshima. This book was written by the son of a daughter in that family, who along with her parents and a brother, miraculously survived the horrific atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Another brother, ironically, was in the US Army and fighting in the Pacific; he was eventually reunited with his family & shocked to find them alive & well. This family all eventually emigrated to the US and became citizens. A fascinating story of survival, bravery, courage, determination, and kindness & faith.

[Lucy Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

In SURVIVING HIROSHIMA, Anthony Drago and Douglas Wellman tell the story of the Palchikoff family, White Russians who escape death at the hands of Bosheviks during the Russian Revolution only to find themselves at Ground Zero in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Well-researched and well-written, this compelling book describes the events leading up to America’s decision to drop the bomb, details of the actual bombing, and a first person account of the devastating aftermath. I thought I knew a fair amount about the bombing of Hiroshima, but these authors filled in many of the gaping holes in my knowledge, both in specific details and in nuance. Well worth reading.

[Bertha Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surviving Hiroshima deals with a topic that we all know: the destruction of the city of Hiroshima using the first atomic bomb.
This book approaches the subject in a way that no one has before: in the words of Kaleria Palchikoff, one of the survivors of the atomic explosion and a member of the Russian nobility, whose family emigrated to Japan to escape the Bolsheviks.
Surviving Hiroshima is extremely detailed and well written, historically accurate, and an excellent addition to any history lover's library.
I thank the author, publishers, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book, and declare that the opinion I have expressed above is based solely on what I think of this book.

[Marie A. Abate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but more focus on Hiroshima needed

The beginning of the book dragged a bit with more detailed descriptions of Russia that were not of much interest to me. The middle of the book, what happened during the bombing, was terrifying and is something everyone should know with regard to the destructive power of nuclear weapons. However, instead of going back to personal details of the author’s family to finish up the book, I would have liked to read more about the aftermath of the bomb, including how the city was able to begin to recover and what happened to the survivors of the bombing who stayed in Japan and that area. This latter part was not addressed in the book.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the book although I found the writing and book structure to be amateurish. A true story of a Russian family coming to live in Japan post-Russian revolution is almost unbelievable! I feel the title is misleading as the book is so much more than what happened 80 years ago, as significant as Hiroshima is.

The story is why I love biographies - ordinary people living through remarkable circumstances. Humans ability to overcome obstacles will never cease to grab my attention. I truly believe we don’t know what we are capable of until we are faced with having to.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

**I received an e-ARC from NetGalley for an honest review**

I knew that people who weren't Japanese lived in and survived the Hiroshima bombing, but this is the first time I've come across an account that I can read!

The story was incredibly engrossing. As I was reading, I didn't realize how much time had passed and I had to force myself to stop and take a break to do some actual work.

This book was incredibly well written. Easy to read and follow.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surviving Hiroshima is a powerful story of survival amidst a devastating war. Many of us know the basic facts of the atom bomb drops, but what about the people whose lives were forever changed by them? This is an important look inside one of the biggest events in history, one that gives a more human look to it. A must-read for anyone who loves history, or wants to understand the things that shaped history more.