) Why does Fussell “thank God” for the atom bomb? What role does his own experience of history play in shaping his views as an historian?
2) Considering Fussell’s discussion of the treatment of Japanese skulls during World War II, as well as all the other atrocities of World War II (the Holocaust, the Japanese invasions in Asia, the Allied fire bombing of Dresden), what do you think about the way that many historians call World War II “The Good War”? And, why do you think those historians have chosen the term “The Good War”?
3) What has been the impact of the atomic bomb on U.S. history?
4) What function does morality play in historians’ views of the past?
(Definition of Morality: Morality is the quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct or a system of ideas that fall into those same categories.)
