The US decision to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima remains one of the most controversial events of the twentieth century. But as this fascinating new history shows, the bomb dropped by an American pilot that hot August morning was in many ways the world's bomb, in both a technological and a moral sense. And it was the world that would have to face its consequences, strategically, diplomatically, and culturally, in the years ahead.

The world's atom -- Great Britain : refugees, air power, and the possibility of the bomb -- Japan and Germany : paths not taken -- The United States I : imagining and building the bomb -- The United States II : using the bomb -- Japan : the atomic bombs and war's end -- The Soviet Union : the bomb and the Cold War -- The world's bomb -- Epilogue : nightmares and hopes.