The voyage of the Golden Rule : an experiment with truth

In late March of 1958, four men set sail in a thirty-foot ketch, the Golden Rule, for the nuclear-bomb-testing area in the Marshall Islands. Their sailing was a non-violent protest to the continuation of such tests-tests which could threaten present and future generations with the deadly effects of fallout. Albert Bigelow, master and captain of the Golden Rule, has written a full and articulate account of this project-the reasons behind the sailing, his own difficult personal decision, the two voyages from San Pedro, California, and the government's opposition that resulted in the imprisonment of captain and crew in Hawaii. He also gives a record of the navigational details of the voyage, including their difficulties in a storm the Coast Guard described as "one of the worst in twenty years." The reader is given a clear understanding of the theory of non-violence and the author describes some of the other efforts made by the Committee for Non-Violent Action Against Nuclear Weapons and by the crew who later sailed another vessel, the Phoenix, right into the testing area. First published in 1959, THE VOYAGE OF THE GOLDEN RULE is an honest and inspiring record of a remarkable voyage and the men who made it. It is an important account of a noble action, one which focused the attention of the world and its governments on a problem that must be solved immediately if mankind is to survive. Above all, it is a calm and eloquent plea for peace on earth by a man who felt that it was "time to do something about peace, not just talk about peace."… (more)