The conventional history of nations, even continents, is a history of warfare. According to this view, all the important ideas and significant changes of humankind occured as part of an effort to win one violent, bloody conflict or another. But there have always been a few who refused to fight. Following the grand sweep of history from Confucius to Tolstoy, Erasmus to Gandhi, bestselling author Mark Kurlansky traces pacifism and its proponents to show how many modern ideas, a united Europe, the United Nations, and the ...
Read More
The conventional history of nations, even continents, is a history of warfare. According to this view, all the important ideas and significant changes of humankind occured as part of an effort to win one violent, bloody conflict or another. But there have always been a few who refused to fight. Following the grand sweep of history from Confucius to Tolstoy, Erasmus to Gandhi, bestselling author Mark Kurlansky traces pacifism and its proponents to show how many modern ideas, a united Europe, the United Nations, and the abolition of slavery - originated in non-violence movements.
Read Less
Add this copy of Nonviolence: the History of a Dangerous Idea (Modern to cart. $5.19, very good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Modern Library.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea to cart. $7.97, good condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Random House Group.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 224 p. Modern Library Chronicles. May show signs of wear, highlighting, writing, and previous use. This item may be a former library book with typical markings. No guarantee on products that contain supplements Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Twenty-five year bookseller with shipments to over fifty million happy customers.
Add this copy of Nonviolence: the History of a Dangerous Idea (Modern to cart. $7.98, good condition, Sold by Your Online Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Houston, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Modern Library.
Add this copy of Nonviolence: the History of a Dangerous Idea (Modern to cart. $7.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Diamond rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Modern Library.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Nonviolence: the History of a Dangerous Idea (Modern to cart. $7.99, good condition, Sold by HPB-Red rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Modern Library.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or limited writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Nonviolence: the History of a Dangerous Idea (Modern to cart. $8.17, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Diamond rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Modern Library.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Nonviolence: the History of a Dangerous Idea (Modern to cart. $8.49, good condition, Sold by Firefly Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Kutztown, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Modern Library.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Used Good. Light wear to cover, slightly bumped corners, pages clean and unmarked. Firefly Bookstore sells items online and in our store front. We try to add images and descriptions when we can, but if you need additional information or photos of the books we list, please contact us.
Add this copy of Nonviolence: the History of a Dangerous Idea (Modern to cart. $8.95, like new condition, Sold by VILLAGE IDIOT'S BOOKS rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Durham, NH, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Random House Group.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine; Collectible. NEAR FLAWLESS EARLY PRINTING. COVER IS WHOLE WITH GOOD COLORS, NO SUN FADING, AND MINIMAL FLAWS. NO NAMES OR MARKS SEEN ON WHITE PAGES. GOOD BINDING AND NICE, CLEAN COPY LOOKS NEW, UNREAD. SEE PHOTOS IF AVAILABLE. 8060 NS 01.
Why does the author use the subtitle ?The History of a Dangerous Idea?? How can non-violence be dangerous? An important idea is tucked into the subtitle, one that few people really understand in my experience. Most people, if they think about the matter at all, confuse non-violence with pacifism; or worse, with ?passive resistance?.
There is nothing passive about what Kurlansky is describing. It is active, and active in such a way that oppressors are at a loss what to do about it, which is why, for them, it is dangerous. In fact, the author is at pains to make clear that the only way oppressors can deal with the kind of non-violence described in his book, is to make non-violent activists retaliate violently, in which case they are lost, because the oppressor almost always has more weapons, more force, at his disposal and can usually overcome the rebels. Even where the rebels succeed in battling the oppressor into submission, they usually just replace one dictatorship with another.
But non-violence is not only ?dangerous? for the oppressor, it?s dangerous for the activists. As Gandhi said repeatedly, he needed non-violent ?soldiers? who were as disciplined and as brave as conventional soldiers. He certainly didn?t want pacifists around him. Having said that, Kurlansky suggests that far fewer people lose their lives using non-violence than in a shooting war.
I was surprised to read how often non-violence has been used successfully. In my opinion this book is way ahead of its time, and I recommend it to anyone wanting to find alternatives to French Revolution-type regime change.
This book is compulsively readable, well researched without being tediously ?academic?, and will make a reader rethink ideas which are, for most people, unquestioned mental scenery.