Finished on the train in five short rides, Howard Zinn’s The Bomb is a stunning exploration–both personal and historical–of the atomic bomb. Fascinating, chock full of facts without feeling overwrought, at times heartbreaking.

If you were a fan of John Hersey’s Hiroshima (which everyone, and I mean everyone, should read), this is a perfect companion for it.

And it’s amazing how we can so easily blindly follow into the darkness. Stark, indeed.