The Bomb (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Bomb is a 1995 novel by Theodore Taylor
written to protest against nuclear testing on Bikini Atoll
after the natives are forced to move. It was first published by Harcourt Children's Books in October 1995. The book won the 1996 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
.
under constant threat by the Japan
ese soldiers occupying the island. However, one day, American forces attack the island, defeating the Japanese soldiers, and freeing the island. Later, World War II ends.
However, an American battleship lands in the lagoon, and a few days later, an American commander, one of which represents Operation Crossroads
, delivers the news to the natives that Bikini has been chosen as a site for nuclear tests due to "ideal" conditions, and asks the villagers to move. Most agree, but Abram, Sorry's uncle, insists that the villag
They carry out their plan, but the bombers fail to notice the canoe, and/or the light glinting of the tin they brought with them and they are killed by the blast.
The natives return in 1969 and stay for ten years, but doctors notice a radioactive element left over by the blast, Cesium 137, and the natives leave the island again.
Theodore Taylor (author)
Theodore Taylor was an American author of more than 50 fiction and non-fiction books for young adult readers, including The Cay, The Weirdo , Ice Drift, Timothy of the Cay, The Bomb, Sniper, and Rogue...
written to protest against nuclear testing on Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
after the natives are forced to move. It was first published by Harcourt Children's Books in October 1995. The book won the 1996 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction is an American award established in 1982 to encourage authors to focus on historical fiction. The award was created by Scott O’Dell, author of Island of the Blue Dolphins and 25 other children's books, in hopes of increasing young readers' interest in...
.
Plot summary
Sorry Rinamu is a 14-year old boy who lives on Bikini Atoll. In the first section of the book, Sorry and the natives live through World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
under constant threat by the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese soldiers occupying the island. However, one day, American forces attack the island, defeating the Japanese soldiers, and freeing the island. Later, World War II ends.
However, an American battleship lands in the lagoon, and a few days later, an American commander, one of which represents Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
, delivers the news to the natives that Bikini has been chosen as a site for nuclear tests due to "ideal" conditions, and asks the villagers to move. Most agree, but Abram, Sorry's uncle, insists that the villag
They carry out their plan, but the bombers fail to notice the canoe, and/or the light glinting of the tin they brought with them and they are killed by the blast.
The natives return in 1969 and stay for ten years, but doctors notice a radioactive element left over by the blast, Cesium 137, and the natives leave the island again.