PROTEST AND SURVIVE (First edition - third printing - published as a PBO)

A third printing of the true first edition - published as a paperback original in the Penguin Special series. Originally published in 1980, and reprinted again in 1980, and in this 1981 printing. ***A very good copy in illustrated card covers. The covers have some marks and creasing commensurate with age and handling. Edges of wrappers slightly rubbed and creased. No reading creases to the spine. No tears. Slight stain to the fore-edge of the page block, not affecting the interior pages. Internally also very good, with no inscriptions. Internal pages clean although the paper is lightly tanned. ***265 pages plus a six page publisher's catalogue at the rear. 180mm x 110mm. ***'Have cruise missiles increased the chances of nuclear war? Nukes are nasty and governments are anxious to ensure that nuclear wars are "limited" to a "theatre". Cruise missiles deployed in the UK are seen by the British government as preserving our ancient independence in the face of the "monstrous" Russian threat. In this book E. P. Thompson and his colleagues challenge the grounds of this assumption and show that use of the owner-controlled missiles by the US in a "limited" war will mean the complete destruction of the "theatre", of Western Europe and of Great Britain in particular. This book examines the politics of what is being done and, in the face of the British government's extraordinary pamphlet "Protest and Survive", urges immediate and determined opposition.' (Quote taken from the back cover) ***'"Protect and Survive" was a public information campaign on civil defence. Produced by the British government between 1974 and 1980, it intended to advise the public on how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack. The campaign comprised a pamphlet, newspaper advertisements, radio broadcasts, and public information films. The series had originally been intended for distribution only in the event of dire national emergency, but provoked such intense public interest that the pamphlet was published, in slightly amended form, in 1980. Due to its controversial subject, and the nature of its publication, the cultural impact of "Protect and Survive" was greater and longer-lasting than most public information campaigns. Organizations such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament protested that the pamphlet, by popularising the idea that a nuclear war could be survived, made such a war more likely. The protest organisations published and sold large numbers of copies of the pamphlet, considering that widespread reading of the pamphlet could only discredit the government's policy. Counter-pamphlets such as "Protest and Survive" by E P Thompson and "Civil Defence, whose Defence" by the Disarmament Information Group replied to the pamphlet's arguments.' (Wiki)***A third printing of the true first edition of this important book - a paperback original, published during the height of the Cold War. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc. …