Influencing US presidents and public opinion, the American journalist Norman Cousins had an incredible but overlooked diplomatic impact during the Cold War. As the editor of the Saturday Review for more than thirty years, Norman Cousins had a powerful platform from which to help shape American public debate during the height of the Cold War. Under Cousins's leadership, the magazine was considered one of the most influential in the literary world. Cousins's progressive, nonpartisan editorials in the Review earned him the respect of the public and US government officials. But his deep impact on postwar international humanitarian aid, anti-nuclear advocacy, and Cold War diplomacy has been largely unexplored. In this book, Allen Pietrobon presents the first true biography of Norman Cousins. Cousins was much more important than we realize: he was involved in several secret citizen diplomacy missions during the height of the Cold War and, acting as a private citizen, played a major role in getting the Limited Test Ban Treaty signed. He also wrote JFK's famous 1963 American University commencement speech ("not merely peace in our time but peace for all time"). This book is a fascinating look at the outsized impact that one individual had on the course of American public debate, international humanitarianism, and the Cold War itself. This biography of the vocal anti-communist and anti-nuclear activist's public life will interest readers across the ideological spectrum.
Allen Pietrobon (SILVER SPRING, MD) is an assistant professor of global affairs at Trinity Washington University.
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 Ravensbruck 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
Influencing US presidents and public opinion, the American journalist Norman Cousins had an incredible but overlooked diplomatic impact during the Cold War.
