Perspective

The text is delivered as an extended piece of journalism originally intended for serial publication in a widely circulated periodical. After writing, the text was presented in a single issue of the periodical and, later, was published in book format with minor revision. Subsequent editions appeared and approximately four decades after initial publication a second edition was published containing a substantial volume of new material. The author, a journalist by trade, intended the text to be a recital of facts about, and a tribute to, the survivors of the first nuclear detonation. The resulting text is somewhat journalistic in tone but has been demonstrated to be an essentially correct presentation of fact.

The initial text was intended for a broad American audience. The initial publication doubtlessly included many tens of thousands of American men and women who were recently returned from service in World War II—including...