Gerard C. Smith: A Career in Progress

As a 37-year old assistant to an Atomic Energy Commissioner in 1951, at the outset of a public career already spanning four decades, Gerard Smith journeyed to Eniwetok to witness an atmospheric nuclear test. He later characterized the experience as 'having a look at Hell.' He has dedicated his career to the cause of enhancing understanding of the risks posed by nuclear weapons and to seeking practical, non-utopian measures to limit these risks. In this volume an extraordinary group of similarly committed men reflect upon their joint endeavors to foster nuclear understanding and restraint. The contributors are uniformly conscious of the incompleteness of their task but united in their belief that the quest must continue. The historical insights and personal anecdotes that they record bear compelling witness to the intelligence, integrity, moral gravity and steadfastness of Gerard Smith.