Andrei Sakharov The Conscience of Humanity

Andrei Sakharov holds an honored place in the pantheon of the world’s greatest scientists, reformers, and champions of human rights. But his embrace of human rights did not come through a sudden conversion; he came to it in stages. Drawing from a 2014 Hoover Institution conference focused on Sakharov’s life and principles, this book tells the compelling story of his metamorphosis from a distinguished physical scientist into a courageous, outspoken dissident humanitarian voice. His extraordinary life saw him go from playing the leading role in designing and building the most powerful thermonuclear weapon (the so-called hydrogen bomb) ever exploded to demanding an end to the testing of such weapons and their eventual elimination. The essays detail his transformation, as he appealed first to his scientific colleagues abroad and then to mankind at large, for solidarity in resolving the growing threats to human survival—many of which stemmed from science and technology. Ultimately, the distinguished contributors show how the work and thinking of this eminent Russian nuclear physicist and courageous human rights campaigner can help find solutions to the nuclear threats of today.

Sidney D. Drell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and professor of theoretical physics emeritus at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University. George P. Shultz, the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution, has had a distinguished career in government, in academia, and in business. Drell and Shultz are both recipients of the 2015 Dwight D. Eisenhower Award, honoring individuals who have made outsanding contributions to the advancement of the field of nuclear nonproliferation.