IMO the best and most comprehensive source on the Atomic Bombings is Gar Alperovitz's The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb and the Architecture of an American Myth, which argues (convincingly) that the decision was motivated overwhelmingly by post war concerns on combating the Soviet Union, and not by a desire to hasten Japanese Surrender. As both General Eisenhower, and Admiral Leahy later admitted that Japan was entirely defeated at the time, and ready to surrender.
Concerning the recommendations by Atomic Scientists, look to James Franck. He was a Nobel winning scientists who fled Nazi Germany to later become a chairman on the Manhattan project. Prior to the detonation of Little Boy, he along with 7 other top scientists, published a report which argued that:
If the United States were to be the first to release this new means of indiscriminate destruction upon mankind, she would sacrifice public support throughout the world, precipitate the race for armaments, and prejudice the possibility of reaching an international agreement on the future control of such weapons.Much more favorable conditions for the eventual achievement of such an agreement could be created if nuclear bombs were first revealed to the world by a demonstration in an appropriately selected uninhabited area.
Wait, was that the recommended use by it's engineers? Do you have a source for that? I need to add more sources to my collection
IMO the best and most comprehensive source on the Atomic Bombings is Gar Alperovitz's The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb and the Architecture of an American Myth, which argues (convincingly) that the decision was motivated overwhelmingly by post war concerns on combating the Soviet Union, and not by a desire to hasten Japanese Surrender. As both General Eisenhower, and Admiral Leahy later admitted that Japan was entirely defeated at the time, and ready to surrender.
Concerning the recommendations by Atomic Scientists, look to James Franck. He was a Nobel winning scientists who fled Nazi Germany to later become a chairman on the Manhattan project. Prior to the detonation of Little Boy, he along with 7 other top scientists, published a report which argued that:
It was part of the Franck Report. There was a project for an unredacted version somewhere, I forget though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franck_Report