About the Author

Evan Thomas is the author of ten books, including the New York Times bestsellers JOHN PAUL JONES, SEA OF THUNDER, and FIRST: SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR. Thomas was a writer, correspondent, and editor for thirty-three years at Time and Newsweek, including ten years as Newsweek’s Washington bureau chief. He appears regularly on many TV and radio talk shows. Thomas has taught at Harvard and Princeton.

Reviews

‘Urgent, compulsively readable and powerfully resonant’ Sinclair McKay
‘This dramatic, you-are-there masterpiece provides a convincing explanation of one of the great moral questions of 20th century history: was America right to drop the atom bomb on Japan at the end of World War II? … This is an indispensable book for those who want to understand the moral issues surrounding the use of great power.’ Walter Isaacson
‘In this meticulously crafted and vivid account, Evan Thomas tells the gripping and terrifying story of the last days of the Second World War in the Pacific. Writing with insight and understanding, he recreates for us those critical moments when, for better or worse, the decisions, from the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the Japanese surrender, were made.’ Margaret MacMillan
‘A terrifying, heart-breaking account of three men under unimaginable pressure’ Nathaniel Philbrick, author of Travels with George 
‘An indispensable portrait of power, anxiety, and moral ambiguity’ Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of And There Was Light   ‘A taut, thrilling narrative, rich, compassionate, and superbly nuanced.’ Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Revolutionary   “As Christopher Nolan’s movie Oppenheimer shows, the shockwaves reverberate still. The veteran biographer Evan Thomas now enters the debate." The Wall Street Journal  ‘This is a pacy book, in some ways more akin to a novel than non-fiction work. The central characters are fully rounded and Thomas’s vibrant writing style makes it a hard book to put down. A true page-turner.’ All About History, ☆☆☆☆☆