"'As soon as the war ended, we located the one spot on Earth that hadn't been touched by war and blew it to hell' (Bob Hope, 1947). Thus begins this chronicle of the period after World War II when the United States detonated 67 nuclear bombs over the Marshall Islands, specifically the Bikini and Enewetak Atolls. Three bombs are discussed in some detail--Able, Baker, and Bravo--but this is not a scientific journal. The decisions of the U.S. to evacuate (or not) the inhabitants of the islands, the countdown, the fallout, the cleanup, and the effects of radiation on the inhabitants and military personnel are all included. The author's focus is on the negative effects of the detonations on the people of the islands and considers that the U.S. knowingly put the lives of the islanders in danger in order to advance the study of radiation. The book ends with a discussion of the money that was awarded to the inhabitants of the islands affected and how most of it still has not been paid. The black-and-white period photos are an excellent accompaniment to the text. A well-written book about a painful piece of history, this is an excellent addition." --School Library Journal

"On March 7, 1946, the population of the Bikini Atoll bade their home good-bye. They did it for 'the welfare of all men, ' but they were also promised by the U.S. government that they would get their islands back once nuclear testing was completed. Four months later, the navy exploded Able, a fusion bomb meant to test the effect of an airdrop on warships. Later Baker, a nuke placed underwater, was exploded for observation. The damage done by Baker alone made the islands uninhabitable, but test number 12 (Bravo, a fusion bomb with 1,000 times the explosive capacity of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima) created the first nuclear disaster, as fallout settled upon the nearby unevacuated island populations of Rongelap. With deft, well-researched precision, Goldsmith explores the ethical implications of nuclear testing, which rendered portions of the Marshall Islands unsafe for generations, as well as the ongoing fight of the Bikinese and Rongelapese peoples in the Supreme Court for fiscal compensation. A stirring addition to any classroom discussion about the environment." --Booklist

"The Marshall Islands region--remotely located, sparsely populated, supportive of America--seemed the ideal location for the U.S. to continue testing its augmented arsenal of warheads in the aftermath of World War II. Thus began a tale of social and environmental tragedy whose chapters continue to unfold--albeit in very hushed tones--in Congress and the courts. Goldsmith's excellently organized presentation focuses on three bomb tests: Able, for which the Bikini islanders were removed 'temporarily' to the smaller, less productive Rongerik Atoll with a month's worth of supplies; Baker, an underwater detonation which military personnel attempted to clean up with little to no radiation protection; and Bravo, the first hydrogen bomb detonation, in which islanders on a direct path of known radiation hazard were never evacuated. Details of the explosions are harrowing, and careful follow-ups are provided regarding the ongoing fate of the refugees who were moved from island to island, promised compensation that never materialized, and bombarded with contradictory assessments concerning the safety of their persons and homeland. Goldsmith employs a reasoned tone, setting events within the context of realistic Cold War apprehensions, but allowing facts to speak eloquently for themselves. The text is supplemented by such well chosen photographs as stunningly beautiful mushroom clouds, PR pictures of smiling seamen mopping radioactive dust from ship decks, and a dying, double-amputee veteran who appears one page turn before an admiral and his floridly chapeaued wife cutting a celebratory mushroom-cloud-shaped cake. Brief enough to be read in one consciousness-raising sitting, this title also offers further research possibilities through text citation, glossary, lists of youth and adult resources, and an index." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books