The Fate of the Earth and The Abolition: And, The AbolitionNow combined in one volume, these two books helped focus national attention in the early 1980s on the movement for a nuclear freeze. The Fate of the Earth painted a chilling picture of the planet in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, while The Abolition offered a proposal for full-scale nuclear disarmament. With the recent tensions in India and Pakistan, and concerns about nuclear proliferation around the globe, public attention is once again focused on the worldwide nuclear situation. The author is at the forefront of the discussion. In February 1998, his lengthy essay constituted the centerpiece of a special, widely distributed issue of The Nation dealing with the nuclear arms race. The relevance of his two books for today's debates is undeniable, as many experts assert that the nuclear situation is more dangerous than ever. Reviews of The Fate of the Earth "This is a work of enormous force. There are moments when it seems to hurtle almost out of control, across an extraordinary range of fact and thought. But in the end, it accomplishes what no other work has managed to do in the years of the nuclear age. It compels us and compel is the right word to confront head on the nuclear peril." New York Times Book Review "There have been thousands of commentaries on what this new destructive power of man means; but my guess is that Schell's book . . . will become the classic statement of the emerging consciousness." Max Lerner, New Republic Reviews of The Abolition "As always, Schell is interesting and ingenious, eloquent and sometimes moving. He presents his case with clarity, and with candor about its possible shortcomings." New Republic "A reasoned argument. . . . As this work will do much to stimulate the ongoing nuclear debate, it is highly recommended." Library Journal |
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Common terms and phrases
abolition agreement action aggression annihilation atomic balance of terror biological blast wave bomb century civil cold war common world conventional crisis death defense destroy deterrence theory doom doomsday machine doses earth ecosphere effects energy evil existence explosion extermination fact fallout fear force future global goal Hiroshima hope human human extinction hundred killed knowledge launch lethal live mankind means megatons ment miles military millions missiles moral mutual assured destruction Nagasaki nations nature never nuclear arms nuclear arsenals nuclear attack nuclear disarmament nuclear holocaust nuclear peril nuclear powers nuclear predicament nuclear weapons nuclear world ourselves ozone peace peril of extinction political possible pre-nuclear present question radiation radical radioactive reason retaliation retaliatory scientists seems sense side sovereignty Soviet Union species square miles strategic strike survival terror thermal pulse things thinking thought thousand threat threaten tion totalitarian ultraviolet unborn United whole world government
Popular passages
Page xvi - There was nothing either above or below him, and I knew it. He had kicked himself loose of the earth. Confound the man! he had kicked the very earth to pieces.
Page xviii - If at the beginning of the War and during the War twelve or fifteen thousand of these Hebrew corrupters of the people had been held under poison gas, as happened to hundreds of thousands of our very best German workers in the field, the sacrifice of millions at the front would not have been in vain.
Page xiv - In the empty immensity of earth, sky, and water, there she was, incomprehensible, firing into a continent. Pop, would go one of the six-inch guns; a small flame would dart and vanish, a little white smoke would disappear, a tiny projectile would give a feeble screech - and nothing happened.
References to this book
Art After the Bomb: Iconographies of Trauma in Late Modern Art Darrell D. Davisson Limited preview - 2008 |