Reviews
This eye-opening biography is a primer for the lost art of gentle statecraft.
Norman Cousins: Peacemaker in the Atomic Age will not only be of keen interest to readers seeking to know more about Cousins's career, or those looking for additional insight and perspective into some of the most important moments of the Cold War, but it may also spark important conversations about processes of social and political change today.
As a sympathetic biographer, Pietrobon does a good job of describing how Cousins's combination of deep moral convictions and political pragmatism managed to make such an impact.
Allen Pietrobon's Norman Cousins: Peacemaker in the Atomic Age casts new and important light on one of the most significant movers and shakers in the modern American peace movement. It is an important addition to historical understanding of peace activism and its intersection with public policy during the Cold War.
Norman Cousins: Peacemaker in the Atomic Age by scholar Allen Pietrobon confirms the immensity of his humanitarian spirit and influence as a self-appointed secular anti-nuclear prophet
Bringing to light the wide array of efforts Norman Cousins undertook on behalf of political and social causes, Pietrobon convincingly argues that Cousins made key contributions to several important Cold War social movements and diplomatic endeavors.
Pietrobon shines light on the extraordinary life of Norman Cousins, an activist, journalist, philosopher, and private citizen who, over the course of nearly five decades, conducted quiet 'citizen' diplomacy when political elites were unable or unwilling to engage on difficult issues. This well-written, compelling book, the first scholarly rendering of Cousins's life, is both original and substantial.
Allen Pietrobon's Norman Cousins is one of the long-awaited books of our time. In his close relationships with John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, Lyndon Johnson, and scores of other powerbrokers, Cousins proved to be a moral force for global good. This is a brilliantly researched and marvelously written study of a dove extraordinaire. Highly recommended!
Allen Pietrobon has written a masterful account of Norman Cousins, whose remarkable life intersected with so many vital flashpoints in the American century. In this outstanding blend of historical research and vivid prose, Pietrobon brings alive Cousins's poignant odyssey as a man of peace in a world beset by war.
As a lifelong admirer of Norman Cousins, I relished Pietrobon's fascinating account of the globe-trotting peace activist, who worked tirelessly to prevent nuclear war and bring humanitarian aid to war-torn people. This gripping, exciting, and deeply researched work highlights the impact one remarkable man had on Cold War diplomacy.
Book Details
Prologue
Introduction
Chapter 1. Educator for an Atomic Age
Chapter 2. The Formation of a Vision
Chapter 3. World War II
Chapter 4. An Anti-Nuclear Crusade
Chapter 5. 1946: A New Year in the Atomic Age
Chapt
Prologue
Introduction
Chapter 1. Educator for an Atomic Age
Chapter 2. The Formation of a Vision
Chapter 3. World War II
Chapter 4. An Anti-Nuclear Crusade
Chapter 5. 1946: A New Year in the Atomic Age
Chapter 6. Witness to a Catastrophe
Chapter 7. An Educational Field Trip to Germany
Chapter 8. From Editor's Desk to World Stage
Chapter 9. In Search of Peace, Cousins Rallies for War
Chapter 10. Candidate of the Intellectuals: Adlai Stevenson, 1952
Chapter 11. From Advocate to Diplomat
Chapter 12. Eisenhower's New Look
Chapter 13. A New Project
Chapter 14. The Hiroshima Maidens
Chapter 15. The Anti-Nuclear Agenda
Chapter 16. 1956: The Anti-Nuclear Election Campaign
Chapter 17. SANE and the Anti-Testing Campaign
Chapter 18. The Ravensbrück Lapins and the Communist Connection
Chapter 19. A Cultural Exchange of His Own
Chapter 20. The Dawn of the Kennedy Administration
Chapter 21. Flashpoints: Berlin and the Congo
Chapter 22. Cousins, the Vatican, and the Cuban Missile Crisis
Chapter 23. The Crisis Abates but Contacts Continue
Chapter 24. The Breakthrough to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Chapter 25. A Sojourn with Khrushchev
Chapter 26. The Fight to Ratify
Chapter 27. 1964: Near Death and Rebirth
Chapter 28. Crusade against Dirty Air
Chapter 29. Days of Apprehension and Confusion
Chapter 30. The "Humphrey Mission"
Chapter 31. The Scramble to Prevent a Bombing
Chapter 32. Campaigning against (and during) a War
Chapter 33. The Biafran War
Chapter 34. The Saturday Review's Final Crisis
Chapter 35. The Third Act
Conclusion
Notes
Index