I am fairly pleased with this table that I cobbled together for a guest lecture next week on the different narratives about the use of the atomic bomb in World War II, and creating an example of ways in which they can be compared to each other in an overarching way.
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Related question, given your recent workshop - any thoughts on why so many Jewish intellectuals were drawn to nuclear strategy (Brodie, Wohlstetter, Kahn, et al)? Not sure if the "vacant space on the map" argument works
It seems like the accounts I encounter are explanations of the form “here’s why the bomb was used”—as though it were an unexpected event requiring a justifying narrative. But if I ask myself, in the context, am I surprised? I’m not.