Help us celebrate the publication of Professor Martin Shaw’s ‘whirlwind tour’ of the CND and its history, a organistion very close to Housman’s heart, culturally and historically intertwined with us and the larger peace movement.

The launch of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in 1958 signalled the first modern protest movement in Britain. Martin Shaw details CND’s rise, the activists involved, the tensions with the Committee of 100 around direct action, and the culture, radicalism and social groups that were mobilized to “ban the bomb”.

The book discusses how a new movement in the 1980s, led by European Nuclear Disarmament and the Greenham women’s peace camp, helped remove cruise missiles from Europe and end the Cold War. It examines how the campaign influenced – and was influenced by – antiwar movements from Vietnam to Iraq and Gaza, as well as the environmental and women’s movements.

As the nuclear threat returns in the 2020s, this study shows that the antinuclear movement’s ideas and the non-violent direct action it pioneered still reverberate in the campaign against the UK’s “nuclear deterrent” – and in protest movements from Stop the War to Extinction Rebellion.

Martin will be joined in conversation with CND’s General Secretary, and long term friend of Housmans, Kate Hudson.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:

“This whirlwind tour of CND’s history provides an accessible account of the political context, campaigning dynamics and significant impact of Britain’s most enduring mass movement. Taking in key stops like Aldermaston, Greenham Common, Vietnam and Iraq, Shaw tells the story of this powerful grass-roots movement and brings it right up to date – as it continues to fight for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Well worth a read.” – Kate Hudson, General Secretary, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

“The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has been at the centre of anti-nuclear protest in the UK for six decades. Martin Shaw has written a stimulating, balanced and comprehensive account of its remarkable history – something we all need to know about if we are to find ways to act in the face of renewed nuclear dangers including explicit nuclear threats, the unravelling of nuclear arms control, and the development of new generations of nuclear weapons.” – Mary Kaldor, Director, Conflict Research Programme, London School of Economics

“Shaw expertly synthesizes over 75 years of anti-nuclear protests and resistance into one compelling, highly readable, short history. The result is the single best survey of the anti-nuclear movement in Britain, told judiciously by one of its long-term participants and a respected scholar of international relations.” – Christopher R. Hill, Associate Professor of History, University of South Wales

As always, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com, and a free ticket will be made available.

If you choose ‘book + event entry’ your copies of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier, or arrange for delivery, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com.

Doors Open at 7pm