THE reviews of The Protest Makers have been kind to Ine and it is easy to see why. The book is awkwardly presented in three parts. There is a short useful section on history of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament from 1958 to 1965, which leans heavily at times almost to the level of paraphrase Christopher Driver's book.
Inere is a section deals with a questionnaire given to over 400 core activists of CND. Surprisingly little value this some of the authors treatment of the results is somewhat imThe CNDers are mainly middle class. Many Marxists Hally were (hristians After vears most are san Donucay ad There has been decrease in radicalism and a major drift from allegiance to ihe Failure A lot more useful in this section are the in cenin interviews carried out with leading members of CND major The third aspect of the book deals win me reasons tor une taure OI (ND. This is excellent. means convincing, but are discus authors' sion or ine vamous suralegies par moie polical sophisticatios more sophistication any previous account It is possible that the sharpness of some reviews comes from those who woud ake o senum entase the old CND rather than analyse il.
The book strategies among those involved in • CND:
Labourist; the New Left; and direct Richard Taylor and Colin Pritnara recognise unal une Decest an deal of the campaign was on the moral plane. However, they argue that the dominance of the approach was a major contributing Tactor to une lanure or No strategy ignored the nollica dimension of the debate around nuclear weapons and failed to pose the political action necessary book THE re-emergence of the Campaign for nuclear Bevan with Gaitskell at 1957 Labour Conference. Bevan turned his back on the working class The New Left, however being Line potentla!
Dasse or une Lavoul of Both Wilson and really never really a possibility. fruition.
assess different These themes are taken up in detail in The Protest Makers: British Nuclear Disarmament Movement of 1958-65, a new book by Taylor and (Pergamon Press, £10).
JULIAN ATKINSON begins a three-part CND to socialist politics and then realised achieve a conerent ser or pontica priorities or to win important secfore of theora to ed pass the ass by-pass lett was not reansed. t would nave been fice to get round this impasse, but it was classic None of tereerses me to reversal trauma of the Cuban missile crisis, noney in once ; view of the and the partial victory that strategies.
Colin Pritchard that WIll when the test-ban treaty of 1963 the camPhe leadership of CND had proved In Irrever: decline incapa leadership leadership wai self-appointed in 195 • nere was no lection for the executive until 196 and the first election for chairper son of CND took The executive had envisaged a oressure CIouD Call Dall stree . Arthur Goss, pacifist and CND executive member campaig! 'We were criticised as being a self Socialist Challenge selected. sell-perpetuatine body -and we were.. We didn't wan membership; poned shop they did supposup either Fi support us we were runvas be calvals! ning he leadership we acciac • now lo full il.
was Donnicall backward compared to the CND and file NATO, with the majority of the ex eculive alliance der be de borr the executive "very mụch disapprover of the idea of leaving The confusions at the top CND made the task or winning the labour movement to unilateralism even more difficult.
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argin a new genuinely i party. failed to
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