Realism, utopia, and the mushroom cloud : four activist intellectuals and their strategies for peace, 1945-1989 : Louise Weiss, France, Leo Szilard, USA, E.P. Thompson, England, Danilo Dolci, Italy /
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| Author / Creator: | Bess, Michael |
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| Imprint: | Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c1993. |
| Description: | xxviii, 322 p. : ill. ; 23 cm. |
| Language: | English |
| Subject: | |
| Format: | Print Book |
| URL for this record: | http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/1513033 |
| Summary: | "Two world wars, concentration camps, the obliteration of Hiroshima and<br> Nagasaki, and continued preparations for nuclear war illustrate the modern<br> world's propensity for mass destruction. . . . Yet there have been<br> important signs of resistance to this trend. These have included not only<br> the emergence of mass-based peace and disarmament movements but activist<br> intellectuals grappling with the growing problem posed by mass violence<br> among nation-states. . . . Bess examines the lives and ideas of four of<br> these intellectuals: Leo Szilard of Hungary and (later) the United States,<br> E. P. Thompson of England, Danilo Dolci of Italy, and Louise Weiss of<br> France. . . . Realism, Utopia, and the Mushroom Cloud is a powerful,<br> important scholarly work, casting new light upon some of the great issues<br> of modern times. Readers will learn much from it."--Lawrence S.<br> Wittner, Peace and Change <br> <br> "Bess seeks to understand the way in which the creation of the atomic bomb<br> has changed the social and political situation of humankind. Are we to be<br> held hostage by military forces or can we transform our situation? He<br> describes the lives of four very different activists, each with different<br> views on what causes conflict and how best to address conflict. . . .<br> Overall, this book offers an interesting perspective on life after the<br> atomic bomb. . . . In asking ourselves what the possibilities of our future<br> are, we can turn to these lives for some guidance. . . . This book is<br> informative, provocative, and encourages one to consider carefully how s/he<br> chooses to live."--Erin McKenna, Utopian Studies <br> <br> "These four lives, researched and skillfully presented by historian Michael<br> Bess, make fascinating stories in themselves. They also serve as useful<br> vehicles for examining major cross-currents of Cold War resistance. . . .<br> From Weiss the cynical pragmatist to Szilard the high-level fixer to<br> hompson the social reformer to Dolce the spiritual street organizer,<br> Michael Bess has woven an illuminating tapestry of human efforts to cope<br> with life under the mushroom cloud."--Samuel H. Day Jr., The <br> Progressive <br> |
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| Physical Description: | xxviii, 322 p. : ill. ; 23 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 0226044203 0226044211 |