Running With Cosmos Flowers

Richard Marshall

Richard Marshall's distinguished career has included posts as the head speechwriter for the State Department's Human Rights Bureau, the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was a USAID congressional liaison for Africa, directed the agency's congressional correspondence and reports section, and worked for many years as a reporter for the White House, Pentagon and State Department, covering issues ranging from the breakup of the Soviet Union to the Arab-Israeli peace efforts and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. A four-time recipient of the State Department's Meritorious Honor Award, he won a National Association of Government Communicators' Blue Pencil Award for publications. He resides with his wife in Silver Spring, MD.

Shizumi Shigeto Manale

Shizumi Shigeto Manale was born in Hiroshima 3 years after World War II. She is an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, director and film producer. Her documentary film, Pictures from a Hiroshima Schoolyard, has been screened at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the National Press Club in Washington, D.C, and is slated to be shown at the U.S. Embassy in Japan later this year. Shizumi worked with Maestro Placido Domingo on the Washington Opera's 2011 performance of Madame Butterfly. The former artistic director of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, she has received numerous awards for her work, including the California and Maryland Governors awards; the Montgomery County (MD) Executive's Award for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities; the ACE award for excellence in dance and drama; and the President's Volunteer Service Award. She lives with her husband in Silver Spring, MD.

“There’s never been a story like this in English. Running with Cosmos Flowers is like a Bible of peace.”

- Tomoko Furusawa,
Hiroshima Bomb Survivor, Honkawa School

"An eloquent tale of the human consequences of the war and shows the undying strength of human love even in the face of hardship and conflict."

- Harriet Fullbright,
Former Executive Dirctor, President's Committtee on the Arts and Humanities

“This powerful tale of hope, despair, and ultimate triumph, with its remarkable attention to the details of daily life, is a testament to the vitality of the human spirit.”

- Peter Kuznick,
Director Nuclear Studies Institute

“A wonderful and powerful book that brought back the most unbelievable and painful memories of my childhood… beautifully balanced by the stories of the children huddled around a cold stove in their leaky classroom, their friendship and vitality, and the gifts they later receive from America.”

- Toshimi Ishida,
Bomb survivor, Honkawa School

“…filled with joy and hope for a brighter future. It is the most inspiring story of a little girl whose spirit reminds us to live hand-in-hand together on this earth.”

- Hiroko Matsui,
Wife of Mayor Kazumi Matsui, Hiroshima

“Shizumi Shigeto Manale and Richard Marshall achieve the near impossible…While powerfully evoking the terrible tragedy that befell the people of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and its painful aftermath, the authors have nonetheless created a beautiful work of hope and reconciliation… this is an extraordinary book.”

- Michael Singer,
Author

"I hope that many will read this heartwarming story and have their faith in humanity restored."

- Rev. Robert M. Hardies,
All Souls Church, Unitarian, Washington, D.C.

"...a refreshlingly different perspective on one of world history's most pivotal events."

- Gretchen I Johns,
Professor of Japanese literature, University of Maryland University College.

"Amazing and important story"

- Myron Belkand,
President National Press Club

"Running With Cosmos Flowers is a tremendous story that reveals on the personal level the tragic suffering of those at ground zero, how the atomic bomb affected lives, and how the people emerged yet positive and moving forward. This is a wonderful book with a story that needs to be told. "

- Joan Grant,
Librarian