SEVEN HOURS TO ZERO

Hiroshima, again; but this time it is Hiroshima with a difference. The author tells the story of the crew of the ""Enola Gay,"" the aircraft that dropped the epoch-making bomb. His intention is to lay to rest, finally, the rumor that the entire crew of the plan eventually had become deranged and been committed to mental institutions. Basing himself upon extensive interviews with surviving crewmen (one member is dead), Marx recounts the men's recollections, impressions, and feelings during the preparations for their mission, during its execution, and subsequently. He finds that they were--and are--all healthy, well adjusted and productive members of society, without the overwhelming burden of guilt and remorse with which legend, and perhaps idealism, has credited them. This whitewash completely disregards the fate of the pilot, who cracked under the strain of guilt Marx denies. Not a psychological probing-in-depth, but a journalistic follow-up, on a very personal level, of a turning point in history. Of particular interest: the chapter on the dropping of the bomb itself. Popular designation.