Publication halted on 'inaccurate' Hiroshima book

Publication has been halted for a book about the atomic bombing of Japan, after the author was said to have relied on fraudulent sources.

Publisher Henry Holt and Co has said it will stop printing and shipping copies, adding that author Charles Pellegrino "was not able to answer" concerns about The Last Train From Hiroshima, including whether two men mentioned in the book actually existed.

In a statement yesterday, Stephen Rubin, the president of Henry Holt, said, “Without the confidence that we can stand behind the work in its entirety, we cannot continue to sell this product to our customers.”

Doubts were raised about the book after Pellegrino acknowledged one of his interview subjects had falsely claimed to be on a plane accompanying the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima in 1945.

Since then, further doubts have emerged about a Father Mattias, who supposedly lived in Hiroshima, and John MacQuitty, identified as a Jesuit scholar presiding over Mattias' funeral.

It was also reported that Victoria University, which, according to Mr. Pellegrino's website, had awarded him a Ph.D. in 1982 was reported to have informed Associated Press that they had no record of the qualification.

"We must rely on our authors to answer questions that may arise as to the accuracy of their work and reliability of their sources," the Holt statement said.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Pellegrino was not able to answer the additional questions that have arisen about his book to our satisfaction."