About the Author

Historian Christopher Hamner teaches at George Mason University, serves as Editor-in-Chief of Papers of the War Department, 1784-1800, and is the author of Enduring Battle: American Soldiers in Three Wars, 1776-1945.

The Atomic Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Primary Sources

Truman Library and Museum. "The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb." The online exhibit "The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb" from President Harry S. Truman’s Presidential Library collects a plethora of primary source documents, from internal memos to press releases in the months before and after August 1945.

The National Security Archive. The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II. A rich and detailed collection of documents tracing the development of the atomic weapons and the decision to use them against Japan in August 1945.

PBS. American Experience: Truman. A companion website to the PBS American Experience film Truman, the site contains primary source documents from Truman’s presidency, including many connected to the decision to drop the bombs.