Description
Book SynopsisDuring the 1950s, Michael Randle helped pioneer a new form of direct action against nuclear war, based on the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. At the forefront of the British campaign, he worked closely with Peace News editor Hugh Brock (19141985) and other distinguished anti-nuclear pacifists such as Pat Arrowsmith, April Carter, and Ian Dixon, serving as chairman of the Direct Action Committee against Nuclear War (1958-1961) and secretary of the Committee of 100 (1960-1961). In 1966, he helped spring the Russian spy George Blake from Wormwood Scrubs Prison. Thereafter, he campaigned vigorously on behalf of the Greek democratic opposition, conscientious objectors, and Soviet dissidents. He has always been a man of rare candour and singular energy and principles, even enduring imprisonment for his beliefs. Nowadays, Michael lives in Shipley near Bradford, where he continues to write as a respected expert on people power. Martin Levys interviews with Michael Randle introduce the reader to a tumultuous life that is nothing short of extraordinary.
Trade ReviewThis book is a fascinating insight into one of the major figures of modern British pacifism. In these interviews Michael Randle talks revealingly about his decades of peace and anti-nuclear activism, and his founding role in such pivotal movements and events as the Committee of 100 and the Aldermaston Marches. The result is a remarkable personal testimony, with a striking cast of characters ranging from Kwame Nkrumah and Bertrand Rusell, to Frantz Fanon and Arnold Wesker. Candid, engaging and often witty, it is also a powerful statement of principle. Munro Price, Professor of Modern European History at the University of Bradford
Table of ContentsForeword; Introduction; Family and Schooling; The Birth of a Satyagrahi; The Direct Action Committee and the first Aldermaston March; Peace News and Ghana; The Committee of 100; Marriage, The Official Secrets Trial and Prison; Greece, Vietnam, and George Blake; The Greek Embassy Invasion and Czechoslovakia; Peace Studies and the Alternative Defence Commission; The Blake Trial; Bradford University and Final Thoughts; Chronology; Further Reading; Index.
