A Difference in Magnitude: The World's First Nuclear Attacks as Chronicled by 1945 and 1946 Documents and Recordings

Pocket University

Aug 2005 · Spotify Audiobooks · Narrated by Ralph Cosham

About this audiobook

In the post-9/11 era, nuclear proliferation has given new meaning to the world's first nuclear attacks. Defense analysts say that America could be next. The attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki give us a clear picture of the consequences and underscores the imperative of vigilance and preparedness. With this in mind, Pocket University presents another important and timely audiobook.

A Difference in Magnitude uses selected government documents, radio and newsreel broadcasts, and eyewitness accounts to tell the story of the atomic bomb and the nuclear attacks on Japan. Letters, official memos, and diary entries describe the Trinity Test in White Sands, New Mexico, recount President Truman's thoughts before the attacks, tell of the opposition of scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project and give Japan's response to the devastation. Extensive and well-written reports detail and quantify the destruction and casualties. Included are information on how the atomic bomb works and how it compares to conventional weapons; the reasons for the attacks and how the targets were selected.

Original documents and recordings provide an authenticity that only audio can give. An interview with members of the crew who dropped the first bomb conveys the objectivity and remoteness of the execution. Eyewitness reports by a Jesuit priest who saw and felt the blast and then treated the injured and dying. And a girl, a student at a junior college, who was less than a half mile from the explosion, describes the havoc and horror on the ground. Masterfully narrated by Ralph Cosham, this original production is powerful and compelling.

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About the author

Ralph Cosham was born in England. He changed careers from a journalist to actor in the 1970s. As an actor, he performed in productions at the Arena Stage and the Shakespeare Theatre in the Washington, DC area. He also appeared in several films including Starman, Suspect, The Pelican Brief, and Shadow Conspiracy. He started narrating audiobooks in 1992 and had more than 100 audiobook recordings, some using the pseudonym Geoffrey Howard. He was best-known as the voice of Armand Gamache in Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. He won the 2013 Audie Award for Louise Penny's A Beautiful Mystery. He also narrated such classics as The Time Machine, Heart of Darkness, Frankenstein, Around the World in Eighty Days, Alice in Wonderland, and Watership Down. His version of Classic Stories and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe was awarded Best Audio of the Year for four straight years (1993-96) by Publishers Weekly. He died after an illness on September 30, 2014 at the age of 78.