// War Literature

After a lot of consideration, I’ve decided to use the research paper to explore the justification of President Truman’s use of the atomic bomb against Japan. Some argue that it was a violation of ethics and, to use the more modern term, humanitarian law; others argue that it was purely military strategy, a necessity to ensure the safety of the United States. My goal, aside from defending my own biased opinion, is to objectively consider the myriad factors that culminated in the historical decision whose monumental repercussions have essentially shaped the modern age, particularly in terms of military technology. As far as the use of works discussed in class goes, I think Clausewitz’s theories on war can be related to the military aspect of Truman’s decision and a book by Hannah Arendt that wasn’t used in class (though we did study something else of hers) can add to the discussion of military technology in general.
Bibliography thus far:

McCullough, David.  Truman.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.

Arendt, Hannah.  The Human Condition, 2nd edition.  Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998.

Stimson, Henry L.  “The decision to use the atomic bomb.”  Harper’s Magazine.  Feb 1947.

Bernstein, Barton J.  “The Atomic Bombings Reconsidered.”  Foreign Affairs, Vol. 74, No. 1.  Jan-Feb 1995.

“War Department Thinking on the Atomic Bomb.”  Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Vol 2., Nos. 1 and 2.  July 1947.

Clausewitz, Carl.  “The Ends and Means in War.”  On War, Vol 1.  London: N. Trubner & Co., 1873).

Pynchon, Thomas.  Gravity’s Rainbow.  New York: Penguin, 1995.