A naked woman carrying a naked baby came into view. These people puzzled me until I suddenly realized that they had been burned and were holding their arms out to prevent the painful friction of raw surfaces rubbing together. Others moved as though in pain, like scarecrows, their arms held out from their bodies with forearms and hands dangling. There were the shadowy forms of people, some of whom looked like walking ghosts. Gradually things around me came into focus. How odd! Where were my drawers and undershirt? To my surprise I discovered that I was completely naked. Let us hope this grim portrait of what actually happened will serve as a deterrent to world disaster.A profound weakness overcame me, so I stopped to regain my strength. The goal is avoidance of its use preparation for defense, information on safety, understanding of effects and what to do about them. Ten years later, the atom bomb has yielded to the hydrogen bomb. There are bits of beauty here and there, more vivid for their contrast there is even an occasional spark of humor there is understanding of the emotions let loose by what seemed the barbarity of the ''enemy'', the fears when unconditional surrender was accepted. He has not closed his eyes to the frailties of human nature, the advantage taken of desolation and destruction, the cupidity, but what stands out are the greatness and unselfishness that characterized those who dedicated themselves to helping the injured, the destitute, the desolate. The horrors are there, but he has selected from the mass of evidence, case histories that are important for medical science, human stories that touch the heart. Hachiya yet sustained a triumphant detachment of spirit that enabled him to lift others to his level. Seriously wounded himself, his home wiped out, his worldly possessions destroyed, Dr.

Hachiya, director of the Hiroshima Communications Hospital, kept meticulous notes on the details,- personal, human and medical, that seemed to him important in the days between August 6th and September 30th. But primarily this is a human document, courageous, compassionate, horrifyingly vivid, immediate in its portrayal of the aftermath of the use of the first atom bomb. This is an emotional as well as an intellectual experience, and should go far towards emphasizing the changed ''climate of opinion'' in which we now view the use of nuclear weapons in offensive warfare.

Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya