Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience

The Life and Work of Joseph Rotblat

Andrew Brown

A fascinating biography covering all aspects of the life of the scientist and peace activist
Rotblat's life and work pose important questions about science and society
A biography rich in historical and personal detail from the interwar period, through to World War II and the Cold War
The story of Rotblat's life ranges from his work as a Jewish nuclear scientist working on the Manhattan Project, to one of the prime architects of the anti-nuclear movement, a founder of Pugwash, and the winner of a Nobel Peace Prize, all set against a backdrop of his own personal tragedy
Written by a distinguished biographer with full access to the archive of Rotblat's papers

Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience

The Life and Work of Joseph Rotblat

Andrew Brown

Description

As Andrew Brown shows in Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience, Joseph Rotblat's life--from an impoverished childhood in war-torn Warsaw to an active old age that brought honors and public recognition, including the Nobel Peace Prize--is a compelling human story in itself. What gives it added significance is Rotblat's single-minded dedication to peaceful causes, particularly his pursuit of nuclear disarmament.

Here is the first full biography of Joseph Rotblat based on complete access to his private papers. Brown describes how Rotblat overcame poverty and anti-Semitism to become a nuclear physicist, becoming a key member of the British team that worked on the atomic bomb in England and with the Manhattan Project in America. But Rotblat, appalled by the use of atomic bombs against the Japanese and deeply depressed by the brutal death of his wife in the Holocaust, soon became one of the prime architects of the anti-nuclear movement. The book describes his post-war activities under the shadow of Britain's nuclear program, his first political and media encounters, his exposure of the hazards of radioactive fallout, and his friendship with Bertrand Russell. Brown shows that Pugwash, the anti-nuclear group that Rotblat helped form, eventually established an invaluable back-channel link that penetrated the Iron Curtain. Indeed, it was a Pugwash office that facilitated the first meeting between Gorbachev and Reagan. Gorbachev's security advisers were heavily influenced by Pugwash ideas, especially the concept of non-offensive defense in Europe.

Rotblat dedicated the last six decades of his life to peaceful causes and to efforts to uphold the ethical application of science. In this engaging biography, we discover a great man whose profound conscience shaped his life and work, and left an important legacy for future generations.

Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience

The Life and Work of Joseph Rotblat

Andrew Brown

1. Growing up in Warsaw
2. Liverpool
3. Paradise Denied
4. The bitterness of victory
5. Stepping off the atomic train
6. Bart's, bikini and the BBC
7. Remember your humanity
8. Pugwash
9. Of mice and Moscow
10. Towards a test ban
11. Eggheads and Warheads
12. Years of eclipse
13. Latent progress
14. Reaching for the impossible?
15. An old man in a hurry

Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience

The Life and Work of Joseph Rotblat

Andrew Brown

Author Information

Andrew Brown is Research Associate at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author of The Neutron and the Bomb: a Biography of Sir James Chadwick and J. D. Bernal: the Sage of Science.

Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience

The Life and Work of Joseph Rotblat

Andrew Brown

Reviews and Awards

"[A]n excellent biography"--Jeremy Bernstein, The Wall Street Journal

"Radiation oncologist Andrew Brown's fine biography, Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience, chronicles a life spanning almost the entire twentieth century and moulded by its turmoil and horrors...Brown's balanced and comprehensive biography is welcome. Rotblat's inspiring life--against a backdrop of tragedy and hardship, with idealism but without illusions--deserves to be better known."--Martin Rees, Nature

"Brown's use of numerous interviews, including one with Rotblat himself, make for compelling reading. Overall, Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience is a fine work that lucidly depicts the challenges faced by Rotblat and his Pugwash colleagues as they relentlessly pursued a more peaceful world."--Edwin Lyma, New Scientist