Ep 137: Richard Frank on Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and World War II’s Endgame

School of War

Richard Frank, historian and author of Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire and Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War: July 1937-May 1942, joins the show to talk about the controversial legacy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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Times

• 02:05 Introduction

• 02:15 Soldier/Lawyer/Historian

• 09:19 Early controversy

• 14:55 Counting all the dead

• 21:54 Contemplating invasion

• 30:10 1:1 ratio, recipe for a bloodbath

• 38:03 Why unconditional surrender?

• 40:48 Two steps to end the war

• 46:54 A combination of forces

• 51:08 How many bombs?

• 54:01 Thinking as your enemy does

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