"In 1957, twenty-two eminent scientists met in the small fishing village of Pugwash, Nova Scotia to alert the world to the catastrophic threat posed by nuclear weapons. Drawing their inspiration from the Russell-Einstein Manifesto of 1955, which called upon leaders of the world to renounce nuclear weapons and 'remember their humanity,' they created the Pugwash Conferences as an epression of the social and moral duty of scientists to promote the beneficial applications of science and technology. In 1995, Pugwash and its co-founder Sir Joseph Rotblat were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and today, on its 50th anniversary, the continued threat posed by nuclear weapons makes the Pugwash mission as relevant as ever." (Publisher's information.)