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.