The Prince of Peace City

The closing years of the Cold War and the Reagan administration form the backdrop of Lee Anderson’s The Prince of Peace City, a historical novel about self-discovery and peace activism.

Nuclear weapons strategist Corey Watson decides to join the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament as a break from his demanding job. When harsh weather, financial woes, and the collapse of the sponsoring organization, Los Angeles-based PRO-Peace, threaten the march, Corey and others reinvent it as a grassroots enterprise.

Corey’s dual identity solidifies as the march moves east through the deserts of the American west. He meets a Nobel Prize-winning nuclear physicist turned peace activist. Corey also helps form a splinter group called the Utah Spirit Walk. The war gamer is called upon to mediate conflicts on the Spirit Walk, an experience that starts to change his views on international cooperation and arms control.

Corey’s ongoing work as a defense analyst attracts critics and controversy. He overcomes this opposition and gradually becomes a voice for nuclear disarmament.

Anderson’s novel is a 30th anniversary tribute to the Great Peace March. He was a proud participant in the original event.