Shockwave: Countdown To Hiroshima, The

August 6th, 1945, 9.15 a.m. Six miles above Hiroshima, the bombardier of the Enola Gay releases an atomic bomb into the freezing skies. Seconds later, the city is obliterated in a single, monumental blast of fire. The destruction is immediate and catastrophic, as if a small sun had suddenly exploded. Tens of thousands of people are instantly annihilated. In that moment, the world will never be the same again. Combining a rich array of interviews with gripping storytelling, Stephen Walker's Shockwave presents an extraordinary and unforgettably moving portrait of one of the defining events of the twentieth century. Review: 'Simply riveting. You live every breathless second of it. A terrific book' -- Michael Buerk 'Remarkable. I have been waiting for this book for sixty years' -- Gitta Sereny author of Albert Speer 'Shockwave combines racy, colorful historical detail with profound human concern in a way that does justice to its weighty theme. A remarkable storytelling achievement' -- Frederick Taylor, author of Dresden 'This is an utterly gripping work of micro-history' -- Sunday Express 20050814 'Brilliant' -- Financial Times 20050806 'Tells you everything you want to know about Hiroshima' -- The Sunday Times 20050731 'Walker is content to let the terrible story speak for itself ... offers a timely and harrowing reminder' -- Scotland On Sunday 20050731 'A stunning book, among the most immediate and thrilling works of history I have ever read' -- Irish Times 20050731 'It is the human details that resonate the most...an utterly gripping work of micro-history' -- Evan Griffiths, Daily Express 20051202 'An exciting narrative' -- Herald 20050806 'Stephen Walker has produced a bravura performance ... the horror of what happened is almost impossible to bear' -- BBC Focus 20050509 'A stunning chronicle of one of the 20th-century's defining moments' -- Good Book Guide 20050801 Author Biography: Stephen Walker read Modern History at Oxford and went on to do a Master's degree at Harvard. He was a documentary maker for the BBC for twelve years and more recently for his own company, Walker George Films. He has also directed TV drama, written films such as Death and the Maiden with Ariel Dorfmann, worked as a journalist and written a book, King of Cannes.