© 2006 Mark Kurlansky
In this groundbreaking, controversial, and ultimately definitive history, New York Times bestselling author Mark Kurlansky argues that nonviolence is not the same thing as pacifism; it’s a technique that can speak truth to power to right social injustice or end wars. Gandhi utilized it; Martin Luther King, Jr., utilized it. It has been used to end apartheid and topple the Berlin Wall. Kurlansky offers a sweeping yet concise history of nonviolence from ancient Hindu times to today’s many conflicts—including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Iraq war. But he also draws into focus what a dangerous idea nonviolence has been perceived to be, drawing from history twenty-five provocative lessons on the subject, lessons we can use to effect change today. Is war necessary? Kurlansky persuasively argues that even the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World War II could have been avoided by nonviolent means. With Nonviolence, Mark Kurlansky has written an insightful and highly original book with lessons for our time.