Biographies of sixteen peacemakers who made a difference in the world.-- Provided by publisher.

Leaders in disagreement -- How it began -- Moving in opposite directions -- Madrid to Annapolis -- A missed opportunity -- Contested territory -- Overcoming the trust deficit -- Much process, no progress -- Isratine -- A path to peace.

Bosnia, Rwanda, Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria - a quarter-century of stumbles in America’s pursuit of a more peaceful and just world. American military interventions have cost thousands of lives and billions of dollars, yet we rarely manage to enact positive and sustainable change. In Peace Works: America's Unifying Role in a Turbulent World, ambassador and global conflict leader Rick Barton uses a mix of stories, history, and analysis for a transformative approach to foreign affairs and offers concrete and attainable solutions for the future. Drawing on his lifetime of experience as a diplomat, foreign policy expert, and State Department advisor, Rick Barton grapples with the fact that the U.S. is strategically positioned and morally obligated to defuse international conflicts, but often inadvertently escalates conflicts instead. Guided by the need to find solutions that will yield tangible results, Barton does a deep analysis of our last several interventions and discusses why they failed and how they could have succeeded. He outlines a few key directives in his foreign policy strategy: remain transparent with the American public, act as a catalyzing (not colonizing!) force, and engage local partners. But above all else, he insists that the U.S. must maintain a focus on people. Since a country’s greatest resource is often the ingenuity of its local citizens, it is counterproductive to ignore them while planning an intervention. By anchoring each chapter to a story from a specific conflict zone, Barton is able to discuss opportunities pursued and missed, areas for improvement, and policy recommendations. This balance between storytelling and concrete policy suggestions both humanizes distant stories of foreign crises, and provides going-forward solutions for desperate situations. The book begins and ends in Syria – the ultimate failure of our current approach to foreign policy, and with devastating consequences.

Drawing from years of groundbreaking research in positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based practices, and neuroscience, Real Happiness provides a simple path to reach lasting happiness. The principles of happiness - gratitude, kindness, mindfulness, forgiveness, self-compassion, optimism and connection - are masterfully presented with fresh ideas and insight. 35 easy-to-implement exercises increase awareness to achieve lasting change to your life. It is indeed possible to become happier; Real Happiness shows you the way. Reviews: “Fresh, insightful and enjoyable read on the important topic of well-being.” - John B. Arden, PhD, author of Brain2Brain,The Brain Bible, and Rewire the Brain “Paquette presents readers with the latest in the science of happiness, and does it in a way that is both accessible and practically useful.” - Acacia C. Parks, PhD, Scientific Advisor to Happify.com “Simple strategies and exercises rooted in scientific research to help you improve your emotional well-being and feel more content, optimistic, and yes, happier!” - Nataly Kogan, co-founder and CEO, Happier Inc

This book describes the crisis of war in eastern Europe (Ukraine and Russia), West Asia (Israel, Palestine, and their neighbors), and East Asia. It is an effort to identify the causes and sort truth from propaganda. It examines the role of the Big Lie in developing public consent and blunting popular opposition, and describes ways countries around the world as well as the general public are pressing for peace.

Representing a synthesis of the author’s decades of multidisciplinary work in meditation, psychiatry, psychotherapy, and spirituality, Creating Peace by Being Peace guides readers in creating peace on seven levels of engagement, from the body to the ecology to God. Author Gabriel Cousens addresses the increasingly urgent need to transform humankind with the ancient peace wisdom of the Essenes, a Judaic mystical group that flourished two millennia ago. He begins by explaining the Essenes and the lessons they can teach us as creators of peace. Individual chapters cover a wide range of possibility, from the personal (“Peace with the Mind”) to the political (“Peace with the Community”). The final chapter, "Integrating Peace on Every Level," presents a comprehensive plan for peace with the body, mind, family, community, culture, ecology, and God as a pervasive experience in life—moment to moment, day by day. Cousens blends documentary evidence with original interpretation to show that the Essenes actually did live this experience of peace. Most importantly, he transfers their gift to modern seekers as a breathing blueprint for realizing this reality as we walk in our lives; work according to our gifts, joys, and sacred design; and live the path of spiritual awakening—the sevenfold peace.

We are living today in a multicultural world, surrounded by people from different backgrounds, cultures and religions. Establishing tolerance and peace has become crucial. Without these qualities, social stability and communal harmony are threatened; and acceptance of each other remains elusive. Spreading a culture of tolerance and peace is necessary to address contemporary issues of world peace, this includes reflection on the importance of refusing violence and adopting a more peaceful means for resolving disagreements and conflicts. This book, written by the world’s foremost thinkers in this area, aims to increase feelings of openness and respect toward others, solidarity and sharing based on a sense of security in one's own identity and a capacity to recognize the many dimensions of being human in different cultural and social contexts. Topics discussed in the book include: Promoting Tolerance and Peace  Teaching Tolerance and Peace  Human Values  Intercultural / Interreligious dialogue  Human Fraternity document

This is a book about two forms of service that may appear contradictory: war-fighting and peacemaking, military service and social entrepreneurship. In 2001, Marine officer-in-training Rye Barcott cofounded a nongovernmental organization with two Kenyans in the Kibera slum of Nairobi. Their organization-Carolina for Kibera-grew to become a model of a global movement called participatory development, and Barcott continued volunteering with CFK while leading Marines in dangerous places. It Happened on the Way to War is a true story of heartbreak, courage, and the impact that small groups of committed citizens can make in the world.

A primer on thinking about peace in a nuclear age, this book describes the kinds of peace efforts that have been tried–and those that might be tried–from the highest echelons of government policymaking to the grassroots level of individual endeavour. Its primary goal is to enable the reader to understand ways of eliminating the threat of nuclear war and to be empowered to take action. The book describes and compares nine basic methods people have used to achieve peace, ranging from such conventional approaches as the theories of deterrence and balance of power to more unconventional strategies such as nonviolent resistance. Essentially all significant ideas for achieving and maintaining international peace fall into one of these nine categories or combine features from several. Many have been tried, but all clearly have been found wanting. Yet the authors' tone is one of optimism as they explore some of the major changes of the past quarter century. They contend that these changes alter the balance of advantages and disadvantages among the various paths to peace, so that what seemed partially workable in the past may not be appropriate to the present and what seemed totally impractical in the past might have a chance of working today. The book concludes with a scenario that may make a stable peace possible in the foreseeable future.