Song for Nagasaki / Bells of Nagasaki

Are you the type of reader that likes someone else’s summary? Then pick up A Song for Nagasaki. Or, alternatively, The Bells of Nagasaki is the book for those of you who prefer to go straight to the source. Either way, you are in for a powerful read.

Both books tell the story of Dr. Takashi Nagai. Dr. Nagai became a Catholic after serving as a doctor for the Japanese army in their invasion of China, in the 1930s. He was part of the thriving Catholic community of Nagasaki, Japan - a community which had survived many waves of intense persecution over the centuries, and numbered 12,000 strong. The Nagasaki Cathedral was the largest church building in Asia, at the time.

On August 9, 1945, Dr. Nagai was at work as the dean of the medical school in the Urakami neighborhood, north of the main city which wrapped around a fjord-like harbor. His specialty was the new field of X-rays, and he had just been diagnosed with leukemia from exposure during experimentation and implementation of the new technology.

The, at 11:02 am, the second atomic bomb dropped by the United States exploded 500 meters above the nearby Cathedral and the pressure wave ripped through the building he was in.

Both books tell what happened next, and how Dr. Nagai responded. The story is fascinating and shocking. If you want to know more, buy one or both of the books … or come to the CTR retreat on October 3!