Peace: The Biography of a Symbol
Author Ken Kolsbun
with Mike Sweeney
Published by National Geographic
On April 4, 2008, the peace sign turned 50.
The peace symbol is so familiar today that it seems difficult to believe
that it hasn’t always existed. But in fact it was just half a century ago
that a British designer named Gerald Holtom sat down at his drawing board
and invented it – and this the story of how a design of extraordinary
simplicity came to be one of the most iconic images in history.
It was conceived as a visual plea to end the atomic arms race that started
with the devastating attack on Hiroshima during World War II – and sadly,
it’s still needed to deliver its antinuclear message to a new generation.
But since it first appeared in 1958, the peace symbol has taken on a
multitude of new meanings as well, and this colorful volume explores them
all.
The book takes readers on a journey through five decades as author Kolsbun
presents 50 years of history in pictures and words to tell the fascinating
story of mankind’s elusive pursuit of peace and the symbol that represents
that quest. The book contains iconic images from Kolsbun's own collection
as well as a variety of historical archives, illustrating both the symbol
itself and the larger history it helped shape. Many of the photographs have
seldom been seen before.
Kolsbun recounts the controversy inspired by the peace symbol, including
several legal trials that challenged its very existence, and he debunks a
number of incorrect theories about the sign such as its being a symbol of
the devil.
Although it is a sign that baby boomers identify with, it has cross-generational
appeal. "Children of today easily identify it. They may not know its original
meaning, but they know it stands for good things – be nice to friends, be kind
to animals, no fighting. This is a marvelous achievement for Gerald Holtom’s
simple design. Peoples around the world have marched with it, worn it, displayed
it during combat, held it high on banners, and been arrested in its name. Ask any
man, woman or child, 'What one thing would you want more than anything else in the
world?' The answer would surely be world peace," Kolsbun concludes in his epilogue.
It spread with Kilroy – like profligacy from San Francisco to Europe.
Tom Vanderbilt
In April 2008 the peace sign turns 50. To commemorate this anniversary,
National Geographic Books is publishing a tribute that traces
the world-famous pictogram as it evolved from a 1950s anti-nuke emblem to a
defining icon still widely seen and used today. PEACE: The Biography of a
Symbol (National Geographic Books; ISBN: 978-1-4262-0294-0; April 1, 2008;
$25 - 176 pages, hardcover), by Ken Kolsbun and Michael Sweeney.
Ken Kolsbun, self-described Jack-of-all trades, is a photographer, writer, historian,
peace activist, game inventor, landscape architect, horticulturalist, baseball fan,
mail-order catalog designer, husband and father. He continues to be active in the
peace movement and is an authority of the peace symbol. He and his wife Jannice operate
their mail-order business
www.cooperativegames.com. They have invented numerous boardgames
based on cooperative play, including their 1978 "classic" game Save the Whales.
They live in Forestville, California, 60 miles North of San Francisco.
Michael Sweeney is a professor of journalism at Utah State University. He is the
award-winning author of "Secrets of Victory," which was named 2001 Book of the
Year by the American Journalism Historians Association.
