Barefoot Gen Volume 2: Hardcover Edition

Great history lesson. Very haunting.. Perfect as a teaching tool.

I was born not many years after these events took place. I remember our civil defense drills at school, and the reports of people building backyard fallout shelters. I remember learning in history class that we had dropped two bombs on Japan, one at Hiroshima and one at Nagasaki, and being told that this was necessary to end the war. I remember going to class one morning during the Cuban Missile Crisis and wondering whether the world would still be there in the afternoon. In high school I remember reading John Hershey's Hiroshima and viewing the movie Fail Safe. In college I was introduced to the movie Hiroshima Mon Amour. In other words, like every one else in my generation, I grew up with The Bomb. It was one of those constants in our lives, that was always hovering somewhere in the background. But never ... never ... have I confronted such a vivid portrayal of the horror we actually inflicted upon the residents of these two Japanese cities as I have found in the first two volumes of this series. I am now just starting volume three. I am not big on the concept of "required reading," but if I were to make an exception, these volumes would probably be it. For all ages and education levels. If the images in these books are not haunting, I don't know how you would define the word.

Just by glancing at its cover, Barefoot Gen appears to merely be a cheery Japanese comic book, or manga, as the medium is called in Japan. But the actual contents belie the surface of this exceptionally sad memoir. A story of the hard times war brings that culminates in the nuclear annihilation of Hiroshima, Barefoot Gen was written by an actual survivor of the bombing: Keiji Nakazawa. This true story of a little boy in wartime Japan presents a view of what life was like for Japanese civilians at the height of World War II. It shows in great detail (a picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes) the effect the war had on the Japanese: malnutrition, bombings of almost all cities, etcetera, while still keeping in mind that Japan was also guilty of war crimes. But the end of Barefoot Gen is a nightmarish vision of the worst war crime of all: the dropping of a weapon of mass destruction on a heavily populated, civilian town. The images of injured, haggard victims of the atom bomb moaning and weeping that are shown in this comic are terrible, but far more terrible still is the knowledge that this isn't fiction, it's a memoir. This really happened to women, babies, children and all other unsuspecting civilians. Although Barefoot Gen is not widely known, it is still arguably one of the best anti-war books on the subject, and highly recommended reading. By Elizabeth DeAngelis for Daisy AllianceFor Daisy Alliance by Elizabeth DeAngelis

A moving story which touches the heart. Debate about whether the U.S. had to drop the bomb continues today. Having studied WWII, I think it had to be done. An invasion of the homeland would have cost many more lives as the war would have degenerated into a guerrilla combat. Yet, the sorrow caused is moving to anyone. This book well conveys that. Thank g-d it is not in color.

It had stains on it so I had to order replacement

My professor in college told us to get these books so I did not do it by choice but WOW I LOVE THESE BOOKS!!! I really love the way it teaches history through comics - yet you do not even realize you are reading "comics" it feels like a story book. I can't wait for my niece to be old enough because I am keeping these for her. Vol 1 & Vol 2

This should be required reading for everyone on the planet. Excellent. It will stay with you forever.

My comics as literature college course required this book and I am happy with the purchase. On time and in excellent shape.

son has got the full set now some of these books are very difficult to get hold of fast delivery reasonable price not for children too young

Man's inhumanity to man continues unabated today, but this little book shows how it's not all bad. Even in the grimmest circumstances (and they don't come much grimmer than in the aftermath of an atomic explosion in a fascistic and militarized nation) hope and kindness can survive.

英語ではどのように表現されているのか見てみたかったのと、英語の学習をかねました。