The Atomic Bomb on My Back
Taniguchi Sumiteru
August 9, 2020
“I am determined to keep telling the reality of nuclear war…to realize a world without wars and nuclear weapons.” —Taniguchi Sumiteru
2020 INDIES Finalist, War & Military (Adult Nonfiction)
2021 IPNE Finalist, Narrative Nonfiction
Taniguchi Sumiteru
August 9, 2020
“I am determined to keep telling the reality of nuclear war…to realize a world without wars and nuclear weapons.” —Taniguchi Sumiteru
2020 INDIES Finalist, War & Military (Adult Nonfiction)
2021 IPNE Finalist, Narrative Nonfiction
Taniguchi Sumiteru
August 9, 2020
“I am determined to keep telling the reality of nuclear war…to realize a world without wars and nuclear weapons.” —Taniguchi Sumiteru
2020 INDIES Finalist, War & Military (Adult Nonfiction)
2021 IPNE Finalist, Narrative Nonfiction
Additional Information:
Release Date: August 9, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-57869-040-4
LCCN: 2020909026
eBook: 978-1-57869-041-1
Booksellers and Libraries: Order Here.
SYNOPSIS
As a hibakusha (atomic bomb sufferer/survivor), Mr. Taniguchi knew the horror of nuclear weapons. On the day of the Nagasaki bombing, Taniguchi Sumiteru, then 16, was delivering mail on his bicycle in the northern part of the city, about a mile from ground zero. The force of the explosion tossed him into the air and the heat of the bomb seared the skin off his back and one arm. He spent ten years in recovery and a lifetime advocating for the abolition of nuclear weapons, becoming a co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2024.
This account of his life, during which he lived with "the atomic bomb on his back," is a moving tale of survival and activism, as he dedicated his life to the abolition of nuclear weapons. He struggled against war and fought for peace until he died, in 2017, well into his eighties.
Before his death in 2017, Mr. Taniguchi said, “I am most afraid of what the world will look like when there are no more A-bomb survivors left.” Eighty years have passed since that tragic day and the agonies of the past seem to be falling into oblivion. We cannot allow such a lapse of memory.
This book was released for the 75th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki and includes an introduction by Peter Kuznick, professor of history and director of the award-winning Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, and co-author, with Oliver Stone, of The Untold History of the United States (Simon & Schuster, 2019).
In the News
Vermont Business Magazine, July 27, 2025: Nobel Peace Prize winner calls for nuclear weapons ban as 80th anniversary of atomic bombings near
Grunge, May 28, 2025: WWII Details Too Horrific For History Class
Asia-Pacific Journal, August 15, 2020: Nagasaki and the Hibakusha Experience of Sumiteru Taniguchi: The Painful Struggles and Ultimate Triumphs of Nagasaki Hibakusha
The Arts Fuse, August 3, 2020: Book Review: “The Atomic Bomb on My Back” — Witness to Apocalypse
The American Friends Service Committee, July 30, 2020: “The Atomic Bomb on My Back” book release marks 75th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings
Kyodo News, July 15, 2020: Prominent A-bomb victim's memoir translated for global audience.
Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom US, July 2020: Important Book to Read Now: Sumiteru Taniguchi’s “The Atomic Bomb on My Back”
Meet the Author
Taniguchi holds a picture of his burns at the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference.
Taniguchi Sumiteru was a survivor (hibakusha) of the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki, a prominent activist for a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons, chairman of the Nagasaki Council of A-Bomb Survivors, and co-chairperson of the Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo). He devoted his life to informing people of the consequences of the 1945 atomic bombing and campaigning for the abolition of nuclear weapons, making frequent public appearances to speak to student groups and participate in demonstrations calling for nuclear disarmament around the world. Taniguchi-san was an initial proposer of the Hibakusha Appeal, an international signature campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons that is now supported by the Union of Concerned Scientists and many US and international peace organizations, including the IPB and the ICAN. He died in 2017.