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Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea (Modern Library Chronicles) | 
 enlarge | Author: Mark Kurlansky
Creator: Dalai Lama
Publisher: Modern Library
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $7.98
You Save: $6.02 (43%)
New (31) Used (3) from $7.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 80017
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 0812974476
Dewey Decimal Number: 909
EAN: 9780812974478
ASIN: 0812974476
Publication Date: April 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW
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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.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews:
Provocative lesson August 1, 2008
I picked up this book because I have always been uncomfortable with violence and war in general. I felt that WWII was a just war, for example, but current events less so.
Kurlansky does a great job of detailing the futile history of war, and the potent history of nonviolence. He provides persuasive arguments for how and why nonviolence works. This is much more than Gandhi and MLK fighting for independence or equal rights... nonviolence works in nearly every situation, and Kurlansky states that it is inevitable that we as humans realize someday how poorly violence has worked, and try other options.
One provocative notion in the book is that once a state officially supports a religion, that religion is corrupted. He cites Constantine's embrace of Christianity with making that formerly nonviolent faith into one that supports war to maintain peace. He also cites Islam as a faith that is about peace, but has been changed due to its status as the official state religion in some nations.
An excellent conversation starter!
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