Wittner begins this historical journey with the creation and first use of nuclear technology as a weapon, thereby setting the stage to chronicle both government and public attitudes about the atomic bomb, and to demonstrate how the transnational disarmament movement developed as a direct response to those attitudes. From the bomb’s inception, there was a burgeoning activist movement. In the first section, a vivid account details the early misgivings of the scientific community. Members of the Manhattan Project expressly warned the U.S. government of the dangers of nuclear technology and its use as a weapon. As the forefathers of the disarmament movement, nuclear scientists made early attempts to establish international controls on nuclear weapons and to prevent proliferation. Yet such cautions and attempts were strongly suppressed by government officials who only saw the power behind the bomb. One of the strengths of this book is that Wittner shows several sides of the story—the scientific community, the government, and the public—to provide an accurate account of what transpired, which precipitated the development of a strong activist movement.

From this starting point, Wittner extends his analysis of the development of citizen activism within the context of international sentiments following WWII. Rather than focus solely on the birth of the disarmament movement as an isolated event, Wittner demonstrates how the political attitudes and social movements of the time, including peace activists and supporters of world government, intertwined to take up the mantle of nuclear disarmament to create a transnational movement. A key point to take note of is how quickly the disarmament movement drew public support, especially considering early public support of nuclear weapons, particularly in the U.S. Implicit in this book is that part of the success of the disarmament movement in changing public policy is the ability to mobilize both quickly and to a large degree. Wittner observes that the true strength of the movement involved millions of people, but at times, it dwindled to only several thousand activists.

The remainder of the book chronicles the ebb and flow of the disarmament movement and the response of various governments, particularly in the U.S., Europe, and the Soviet Union. However, there are two points worth noting here. First, while discussing the disarmament movements that were popping up all over the world, Wittner also explores the disarmament movement within the Cold War context and illustrates how even peace movements were riddled with propaganda. Wittner does an excellent job of detailing how both the U.S. and Soviet Union utilized peace and disarmament movements as a tool to fight Communism and Western Imperialism, respectively. What is noteworthy about this aspect of the movement is how it affected both the movement itself and government policy. For the activists, such government manipulation may have actually given impetus to the movement. As noted by Wittner, every time a rally was shut down or activists were suppressed or deported, they became even more motivated. On the government policy side, while officially the nuclear posture became more entrenched, Wittner argues that the opposite was true; as the movement spread, governments were unable to use nuclear weapons because of the public outcry, so in essence, policy changed.

This point segues nicely to the second point, which is Wittner’s account of the success of the disarmament movement and the true thesis of this book—how ordinary citizen activists were able to change the course of history. Throughout the historical timeline, Wittner makes a point of showcasing the divide between government and public opinion, but he argues that activism tempered government policy. Every positive step on the road to disarmament—the establishment of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and other international controls, the fact that nuclear weapons have never been used since the first atomic bomb, and disarmament treaties between the U.S. and Soviet Union—can be attributed to the international criticism of nuclear weapons. Wittner provides strong evidence for his argument through interviews with government officials who admit that public sentiment has influenced government policy. For example, during President Reagan’s tenure, the administration planned for a strong nuclear posture, but transnational movements became so strong and so publicized that many U.S. allies refused to have nuclear weapons in their states. Eventually the Reagan administration was forced to reverse its course.