Emphasis Preaching Journal

Day One is Peter Wyden's account of the development of the atomic bomb. The scientists and military involved in the race to develop the bomb were compelled by an unfounded fear that the Germans had the same knowledge as they and were in the same race to develop the bomb for the Nazi cause. In our nation the cause had strange beg innings and brought together a bevy of unlikely compatriots. When theory became a reality under the Stagg Stadium at the University of Chicago with the smashing of the atom, the scientists knew that history would never forgive them for their achievement. They, realized, too, that with each new advance in their field they brought new threats to life and all of the creation. Yet, the prospect was that if they had not done what they did, the enemy would have created the bomb.

Consequently, Wyden believes that we must measure our days from that point on. Hence the name of the book, Day One: Before Hiroshima and After. The bomb introduced the nuclear age in which all of life is threatened. Our future every day forward from Day One must be measured in the light of our ability to harness and control this power which is now at our disposal. Our failure to keep this power in check will be doomsday. The book is a lament for the way things are since that regrettable day when the bomb was introduced. In that environment we still look to God for a blessing upon our days in the New Year in the light of an ancient benediction by which God unleashes the power of his grace and love upon us.