Arms and Hunger [Hardcover]

Willy Brandt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 1986

The arms race continues to turn resources and priorities away from international development. Diminishing aid programs, growing Third World debt, a population that may reach 10 billion people in the foreseeable future in spite of all efforts to control it, increasing division of the world into pro-US and pro-Soviet camps - these are the dangers Willy Brandt feels can lead not only to greater world poverty and famine but also to world conflict.In this strongly worded book, Brandt goes beyond the diplomatic role he has formerly played and describes major problems plaguing the globe today, as well as solutions for them. From personal observation and experience, Brandt demonstrates that the West has failed to meet today's challenges and delivers a frank criticism of the Reagan administration's policies - or lack of them.Willy Brandt, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1969 to 1974, has been a member of the European Parliament since 1979. Among his many awards were the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 and the Albert Einstein Peace Prize in 1985. He is the author (with Anthony Sampson) of North-South: A Program for Survival, and The Common Crisis North-South: Cooperation for World Recovery (both MIT Press paperbacks).

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this era of global interdependence, warns the former chancellor of the Federal Republic, we face the prospect of perishing together unless we take responsibility for each other's well-being. With copious statistics and projections, Brandt argues that we are more concerned with military security than with hunger and malnutritionwhich in the end may pose an even greater threat. Pointing out that a faster tempo of development in the have-not nations would also benefit the haves, he calls for a cooperative international effort to fight hunger in the Third World. Brandt faults the Reagan administration for failing to recognize the debt crisis as a long-term barrier to development that is slowly strangling economic growth worldwide. An international monetary system is a necessary precondition for peace, in his opinion, and would eventually supersede the present system which serves primarily to finance "this obscene madness called the arms race."
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Much of what Brandt has to say in this book has been said beforebut not by anyone with his unrivalled connections. As a former German chancellor and head of the International Commission on Development Issues, Brandt knows both the issues and the leading players. Not surprisingly, then, anecdote and reminiscence figure largely in his plea for a "new deal" for poor countries. Some readers may yearn for a less diplomatic approach, but, even though it sometimes reads like a collection of speeches, this is a good overview of North-South issues. Brandt has some good ideas and his optimistic tone in the face of worldwide catastrophe is rather heartening. Recommended. Ian Wallace, Agriculture Canada Lib., St.
Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; 1st Amer ed edition (May 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394554469
• ISBN-13: 978-0394554464
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,621,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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