The Soviet physicist, dissident, and human rights activist Andrei Sakharov (1921 1989) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. The first Russian to have been so recognized, Sakharov in his Nobel lecture held that humanity had a "sacred endeavor" to create a life worthy of its potential, that "we must make good the demands of reason," by confronting the dangers threatening the world, both then and now: nuclear annihilation, famine, pollution, and the denial of human rights.

Meeting the Demands of Reason provides a comprehensive account of Sakharov's life and intellectual...