A Desperate Passion: An Autobiography [Hardcover]

Helen Broinowski Caldicott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1996

A self-portrait of a charismatic woman who was the first president of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament (WAND).

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Our memories fade quickly. As recently as the 1980s, nuclear war seemed a very real possibility. Nuclear weapons in Germany pointed at the Soviet Union; similar missiles in Russia were aimed at Europe and beyond. The United States spent money on an outer-space shield to ward off attacking missiles. And people protested. Foremost among them was Helen Broinowski Caldicott, the first president of Physicians for Social Responsibility, who led an educated but passionate fight to slow the arms race and prevent worldwide catastrophe. Time has allowed Caldicott a measure of distance to judge her own affairs, and she does so in this book, which examines a loss of her personal life, her recollection of the struggles, and her unleashing of emotions during these "traumatic events."

From Publishers Weekly

Intoxicated by radical movements at home and in the U.S., Australian-born Caldicott risked her marriage, family and career (including a Harvard appointment) to promote atomic disarmament and disparage (especially in Nuclear Madness) atomic power, to publicize feminist concerns and to press an environmentalist agenda. Although dumped by a backbiting male cabal as first president of Physicians for Social Responsibility, she remains a passionate exponent of her convictions, often, it seems, not letting reality intrude on them. Soviet leader Brezhnev and Foreign Minister Gromyko are among her heroes, as is Cuba's Fidel Castro. The Feds, she asserts, designated New Mexico a "national sacrifice area," permitting it to be radioactively polluted "for the national good." In 1983, she charges, "Humanity was almost converted to radioactive dust" because of a "belligerent NATO exercise." Readers who persist beyond the gushiness, self-deception and Hollywood name dropping here will find an underlying pathos in the price of Caldicott's idealism and in the capacity for betrayal among competitors in the causes she espouses?treachery to which the naivete that helped stir her audiences left her exposed. "I was devastated," she confesses, "that dishonest dynamics could operate within one of the leading peace organizations of the country." Caldicott has a flair for humane causes but not compelling prose. Only partisans are likely to plow through to the end. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 366 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393039471
• ISBN-13: 978-0393039474
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,451,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Informative and Vital Autobiography, August 6, 2001

By A Customer

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This review is from: A Desperate Passion: An Autobiography (Paperback)

This autobiography by Helen Caldicott is stunning in the information it offers. Caldicott is one of the most important women of our century and her discussion with Ronald Reagan's daughter is worth the price of the book alone. Caldicott as a nationally renown antinuclear activist --full of knowledge and bravier in her cause, had the credentials and intelligence to fight the good fight and her memoir of her adventures in doing so opens the eyes wide and fills the mind with jarring reality. She is a life saver, a gift to our salvation on earth--a woman one wants to know and understand and empathize with. Blessings on this book. Buy it. It will light up your mind with her intelligence and caring spirit. All of her books are vital as can be. Buy them. Read them and share them. Daniela Gioseffi, Author of WOMEN ON WAR: International Voices for the Nuclear Age, American Book Award, 1990

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for fans of Caldicott, decent for newbies, January 5, 2000

By 

David J. Loftus (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Desperate Passion: An Autobiography (Hardcover)

I wavered between giving this three and four stars, but decided on three stars for folks who don't know anything about Caldicott. Those of us who are either already fans of her personally, or care deeply about anti-nuclear and environmental issues, would more likely give it at least four stars. Dr. Caldicott is an inspiration to anyone who either wants to make a difference in the world, or fears that no one person can. She started on her anti-nuclear campaign as an Australian pediatrician and concerned mother -- writing an angry letter to the editor about French nuclear tests in the South Pacific (which did not get published) -- and went on to found Physicians for Social Responsibility and to inspire millions. I've seen Dr. Caldicott speak twice, and she's a marvel. She has authored other books, _Missile Envy_ and _If You Love This Planet_ among them, about more specific issues; this is a very personal account, in which she is honest about her failures, disappointments, setbacks, loneliness, and fear of death. But it is ultimately a triumph of the will and spirit. I wish her many more years of health, happiness, and successful activism.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lifeless--where's the passion?, April 6, 2004

By 

Alan Nicoll (real name) (Lake of the Woods, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Desperate Passion: An Autobiography (Hardcover)

An unexciting, uninvolving autobiography. Where's the "passion"? The history is interesting to a point, but the nitty-gritty seems to be lacking. Given Caldicott's powerful speech making and her powerful writing in If You Love This Planet, this desiccated book is a big disappointment. People and events simply don't come alive here.