Freeze!: The Grassroots Movement to Halt the Arms Race and End the Cold War

The Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign was a grassroots peace movement that proposed a bilateral freeze on the building, testing, and deployment of nuclear weapons by the US and the USSR. It stirred popular sentiment and provoked protest, and eventually led to the end of the Cold War.

Format: Hardback
Length: 300 pages
Publication date: 15 January 2022
Publisher: Cornell University Press

In his captivating book, "Freeze!: The Rise of the Transformative and Transnational Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign," Henry Richard Maar III takes readers on a journey through the rise and impact of a grassroots peace movement that emerged amidst the escalating Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Campaign proposed a bold solution to the arms race: a bilateral freeze on the building, testing, and deployment of nuclear weapons by the two superpowers. This simple but powerful proposition resonated with people worldwide, sparking protests and debates in cities across the globe. Movie stars, scholars, religious leaders, politicians, and even US President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev took positions on the Freeze proposal, making it a hotly contested issue.

Through extensive archival research in recently declassified materials, Maar sheds light on how the Freeze campaign demonstrated the power and importance of grassroots peace activism at all levels of society. The movement brought private fears about nuclear warfare into the public realm, shaping public opinion and influencing American politics. It helped establish the conditions that eventually led to the end of the Cold War, a pivotal moment in global history.

"Freeze!" is a testament to the resilience and determination of ordinary people who refused to accept the status quo and worked tirelessly to bring about change. It serves as a reminder that even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, grassroots movements can have a profound impact on the world.

Weight: 624g
Dimension: 163 x 238 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501760884