"Every Man Should Try": Adventures of a Public Interest Activist

Jeremy Stonea renowned, almost Zelig-like figure in the world of public interest activismoffers his antic, wry and moving memoirs of a life spent trying to make the world a better place.. There probably isnt another human being whos been involved with more issues as an activist than Jeremy Stone. Stone never intended it to be that way. Starting out as an academic mathematician in search of a job, he was asked by the Hudson Institute to finish writing a report on nuclear weapons for which the Institute had a grant but no writer. Stone became fascinated in the issue, and he ditched mathematics and began a life as an activist.As any reader of this book will notice, Jeremy is the sort of person who, once interested in a particular issue, becomes a bit obsessed. During his tenure as head of the 2,000 member Federation of American Scientists, Stone has been involved with just about every major activist issue of the past quarter century. He was crucial in freeing Sakharov; influential in getting arms control treaties signed; the secret force behind the arrest of the Shining Paths leader; the man who helped save Cambodia from a return of the Khmer Rouge; the scientist who discredited the sonic boom scare; and the one person who just might have an idea that brings peace to Kosovo. John F. Kennedy once said, Not every man can make a difference, but every man should try. Jeremy Stone took JFK up on his word, and this book is a wonderful memoir of his wild, sometimes successful, heartening life.