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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 303.61 EAN: 9780679643357 ISBN: 0679643354 Label: Modern Library Manufacturer: Modern Library Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 224 Publication Date: September 12, 2006 Publisher: Modern Library Release Date: September 12, 2006 Studio: Modern Library Editorial Review: Product Description: In this timely, highly original, and controversial narrative, New York Times bestselling author Mark Kurlansky discusses nonviolence as a distinct entity, a course of action, rather than a mere state of mind. Nonviolence can and should be a technique for overcoming social injustice and ending wars, he asserts, which is why it is the preferred method of those who speak truth to power. Nonviolence is a sweeping yet concise history that moves from ancient Hindu times to present-day conflicts raging in the Middle East and elsewhere. Kurlansky also brings into focus just why nonviolence is a “dangerous” idea, and asks such provocative questions as: Is there such a thing as a “just war”? Could nonviolence have worked against even the most evil regimes in history? Kurlansky draws from history twenty-five provocative lessons on the subject that we can use to effect change today. He shows how, time and again, violence is used to suppress nonviolence and its practitioners–Gandhi and Martin Luther King, for example; that the stated deterrence value of standing national armies and huge weapons arsenals is, at best, negligible; and, encouragingly, that much of the hard work necessary to begin a movement to end war is already complete. It simply needs to be embraced and accelerated. Engaging, scholarly, and brilliantly reasoned, Nonviolence is a work that compels readers to look at history in an entirely new way. This is not just a manifesto for our times but a trailblazing book whose time has come. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Very disapointed.I like Kurlansky's other books and looked forward to reading this one. It even started out promisingly. But it quickly turned into a liberal diatribe that was typically simplistic of USA/Western/Capitalism. I am very open to the idea that we can find better ways of dealing with conflict than we currently do, but this book does not tell us how. Rating:  - Pacifism for Dummies (quite literally)Those who beat their swords into plowshares usually end up plowing for those who kept their swords -Benjamin Franklin While I would agree that while non-violence is "principled" it has certainly not shown itself to be effective against the kind of monsters that have plagued the most gruesome chapters of human history. Ghandi and King were fortunate that they had operated in the framework of liberal western democracies, and while they certainly faced organized opposition ... Read More Rating:  - Good primerKurlansky's rather small book (only about 180pgs) shows a number of examples of nonviolence, from secular and religious influences, that are presented in a fluid manner, not done in a text-book fashion so you won't feel like you're reading a how-to book. Out of all of the books I have read on the subject of nonviolence, I didn't really pick up on anything I hadn't already read or learned about elsewhere, however, this would make a good PRIMER for those new to the philosophy of nonviolence. ... Read More Rating:  - NonviolenceExcellent. A must-read for anyone who is interested in having a future. Rating: - Unbalanced history. Looking through a flawed prism.Kurlansky paints a picture by using only a single color. His book passes for real history without any of the balance that drives most real history books. I liked his differentiation of active nonviolence from real pacifism, but he never seems to explain the consequences for nonviolent action in truly horrific circumstances. For example, he says that the world might have stopped Hitler if more people had tried nonviolent methods of resistance. He does not say, as most contemporary historians ... Read More |
