
- 360 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF
About this book
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. Struggling with grief and anger, Thurlow set out to warn the world about the horrors of a nuclear attack in a crusade that has lasted seven decades.
In 2015 Thurlow sparked a rallying cry for activists when she proclaimed at the United Nations, “Humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist.” With that, she shifted the global discussion from nuclear deterrence to humanitarian consequences, the key in crafting the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Regarded as the conscience of the antinuclear movement, Thurlow accepted the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. With the fate of humanity at stake and with the resolve of her samurai ancestors, Thurlow challenged leaders of the nuclear-armed states. On January 22, 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons went into effect, banning nuclear weapons under international law.
Critical historical events need a personal narrative, and Thurlow is such a storyteller for Hiroshima. 90 Seconds to Midnight recounts Thurlow’s ascent from the netherworld where she saw, heard, and smelled death and her relentless efforts to protect the world from an unspeakable fate. Knowing she would have to live with those nightmares, Thurlow turned them into a force to impel people across the globe to learn from Hiroshima, to admit that yes, it could happen again—and then to take action.
In 2015 Thurlow sparked a rallying cry for activists when she proclaimed at the United Nations, “Humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist.” With that, she shifted the global discussion from nuclear deterrence to humanitarian consequences, the key in crafting the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Regarded as the conscience of the antinuclear movement, Thurlow accepted the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. With the fate of humanity at stake and with the resolve of her samurai ancestors, Thurlow challenged leaders of the nuclear-armed states. On January 22, 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons went into effect, banning nuclear weapons under international law.
Critical historical events need a personal narrative, and Thurlow is such a storyteller for Hiroshima. 90 Seconds to Midnight recounts Thurlow’s ascent from the netherworld where she saw, heard, and smelled death and her relentless efforts to protect the world from an unspeakable fate. Knowing she would have to live with those nightmares, Thurlow turned them into a force to impel people across the globe to learn from Hiroshima, to admit that yes, it could happen again—and then to take action.
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Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Abbreviations
- Note on Japanese Names
- Prologue
- Part 1. Before
- 1. The Heart of a Samurai
- 2. A Cherry Blossom Life
- 3. Raising the Flag of the Rising Sun
- 4. August 6, 1945
- Part 2. After
- 5. Necropolis
- 6. Life among the Ruins
- 7. Occupied
- 8. Where Was God on August 6?
- 9. Born to Serve
- 10. Falling in Love in Bibai
- Part 3. The Quest
- 11. Crossing Borders
- 12. Blood on Our Hands
- 13. In the Interim
- 14. Witness
- 15. Watchman
- 16. Indifference Is Not an Option
- 17. Reframing the Narrative
- 18. Point of No Return
- 19. Confronting Truman
- 20. Moving toward Zero
- 21. Moral Indignation
- 22. Glory
- 23. The Road to Ratification
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
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Yes, you can access 90 Seconds to Midnight by Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Social Science Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.