Herbert Abrams, in a review of Matthew Evangelista's book, "Unarmed Forces," writes that in a period when the complexity of society and government is such that individuals feel increasingly isolated from the decisions that will affect their lives and futures, it is helpful to be reminded that a small group of concerned and public-spirited citizens may affect the course of human history. The unilateral test moratorium declared by Gorbachev in July 1985, like his later proposal to eliminate nuclear weapons, at the meeting with Reagan at Reykjavik, Iceland, did not emerge from a vacuum. Nor did they reflect the Soviet defense and foreign ministries' creative thinking. Those Soviet positions were--at least in part--a product of the actions of a mix of individuals and international groups who were able to convey both their deep concerns and their pragmatic thinking at a period of extraordinary change in Soviet history. Evangelista has made a strong case for recognition of the depth and breadth of the contributions of these groups at a critical period and of the lessons to be learned from their intervention. Sometimes "unarmed forces" can make quite as much difference as state military power or diplomacy.