Atomic Pilgrim is about Thomas' walk for nuclear disarmament and the things it taught him about himself, the world, and politics. He carefully examines what the individual's role in advocacy is and how we can make change through his journey and the work he's done since.

The first half of the book is about the walk itself. He really tries to look at how his past and psychology impacted his view and experience of the walk at the time and looking back on it. Thomas didn't want to walk originally, believing he would be better suited to helping in other ways, but he changed his mind and joined the core group part way through America. He explores how this initial decision and belief plagued him throughout the walk. This ended up being my favorite section as I was rather intrigued by his experiences in various states and countries, how differently people reacted to him depending on the local culture, how he coped with being in conflict zones and his experiences in a communist country.

The second half focuses on his continued involvement in advocating for disarmament since the pilgrimage, discussing how change doesn't happen because we want it to and the impact companies have on the matter.

I found it to be a very nice, easy read, though sometimes a little clunky. Thomas favors simpler language and a blunter approach to his descriptions. There are sections that I felt didn't have enough explanation. In some cases, like for most of the walk, I can understand the lack of detail as a lot of time has passed and no doubt the days walking through nearly identical looking countrysides for weeks in a row would blend into each other 40ish years later. But I wish we'd gotten more about the planning period and organization of the walk. We know they had to change plans when it came to walking through the middle east, but we only really learn much about the original plan when it becomes a problem. I wish we knew more about what the plan had been before the walk started, and how they found contacts everywhere they went ahead of time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Latah books for the eARC!

I loved this book. And I don't think it's an exaggeration to say it changed my life a little. I've been on a journey to learn more about nonviolence - a philosophy I believe in but want to understand on more levels.
Thomas' book is so moving. The first part is set up to talk about the journey he and the other peace pilgrims went on from Seattle to Bethlehem. I loved reading about his thoughts and both the highs and lows of the journey. I had NO idea just how much of our country (and the world) is involved in nuclear arms (the creation, the storing, the negotiation, etc.). It was definitely eye-opening.
The second part of the book is what he's learned and how he's been involved with nuclear disarmament since the pilgrimage. This part was even more moving. To be reminded that our country doesn't have our best interests in mind (and certainly different companies don't have our best interests in mind) was sobering. And a great reminder that things don't change just because we want them to - we have to work and apply pressure for change to occur.
Highly recommend if you like memoirs, are curious about nuclear disarmament, or just want to read more about other countries, especially as they existed in the early 1980s.

I was excited to start the book, but quickly became tired of it. The main thing I would say is it felt like someone was talking to fast, skimming over descriptions, missing key opportunities for a fuller development of the time period, the characters and why they were doing what they were trying to do. I live in the state the book is based in and was in some of the same areas during the same time., yet I didn’t recognize locations or events of the period. A story like this should be more fully developed with historical context and what the social atmosphere was at that time. I tried reading it several times and just became frustrated with the feeling it was all being rushed and never flowed smoothly for me.
The story is there, but not with this tone.