The first entry into the Permanent Records Lab came to be through a bit of serendipity. In July of 2015, my friends at Recorded Books studios in Manhattan asked if I’d produce a short interview with an author whose book they had just recorded for Viking publishers. The book is entitled Nagasaki, Life After Nuclear War. Author Susan Southard joined me via telephone for a conversation about her book. This interview is featured as bonus material after the audiobook program of the unabridged text.
In Nagasaki, Southard gives a powerful account of the second atomic bombing of Japan. The attack on Nagasaki occurred only three days after the bombing of Hiroshima on August 9th, 1945. As we mark the seventy year anniversary of these events, there is a danger of distancing ourselves from the nearly unimaginable horror that was visited upon so many thousands of innocent lives.
Beginning her research in 1986 as a Japanese translator, Southard’s work brought her into close relationship with a number of hibakusha, the survivors of the atomic bomb. In our conversation, Southard expands on a theme that characterizes Nagasaki, namely the relationship between personal stories, the telling of history, and the promotion of peace. Through the personal testimony of Taniguchi Sumiteru, Do-oh Mineko, Nagano Atsuko, Yoshida Katsuji, and Wada Koichi , Susan Southard makes this devastation tangible and profound for her reader. With Nagasaki, Southard has created a powerful permanent record of lives directly impacted by nuclear war.
Southard’s decades of research and interviews is an inspiration to media makers of all kinds. Reflecting on Nagasaki reminds me about the power of storytelling, preserving memories, and the reclaiming of history with a spirit social change. These values strike at the core of what the Permanent Records Lab is all about.
Further links:
Susan’s Op-Ed in the New York Times “Nagasaki, the Forgotten City”
New York Times Book Review 7/28/2015
Permanent Records Lab 