Reviews

I had two misgivings about this book before I began to read it. Both turned out to be unfounded.

The first was that, since I have read my fair share of nonviolence books, I feared that it would all be repetition. Cortright starts the book with Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, but not with the ordinary biographical stories of their lives. Rather he uses them as vehicles to explain the secret of non-violence, together with today's scholars and his own opinions. It works very well and even though Gandhi and King are familiar to…

In These Strange Criminals, Peter Brock collects stories of imprisoned conscientious objectors since the First World War, and - with one exception - from the English speaking world; Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA. While at times repetitive - but that's the nature of prison life - the different stories manage to capture the experience of imprisoned COs, their thinking, and also the changes to prison over the course of 50 years.

Brock chose prison memoirs from a wide range of objectors - religious and political -…

“Peggy [his mother] became a flame of optimism in my young life [during WW2]. And when I once asked what was the point of struggling with my homework when we were all going to die, she replied: “By the time you grow up, they may have found a cure for that ...” “She asked me repeatedly [during the Israeli siege of Lebanon in 1982] why governments spend so much money on guns.” (p793.)

For nearly thirty years, Fisk has been a journalist in the Middle East - through peace, war and politics - observing and writing for the…

The main aim of this book, as its editors make clear at the outset, is to provide a collection of readings on the ethics of war that will “prove useful to many students, teachers and researchers”. What they have produced is likely to prove an invaluable resource for many readers for years to come.

The book has a variety of strengths. First, there is its sheer size, with nearly 700 pages of readings. The editors have not stinted on the index, which itself runs to nearly 40 pages, and helps the materials contained within the book to…

In Heat, George Monbiot attempts to construct what too few thinkers have attempted until now - a solution to climate change.

Refreshingly, he spends little time on the problem itself, declaring (correctly) that the debate on the science is over. Rather, the question is how we now deal with the greatest threat faced by humankind. Pointing out that current scientific estimates predict that the UK will need to cut its CO2 emissions by around 90% by 2030 - a far greater cut than planned for by the Labour government - Monbiot…

In October 2005, Maya Evans was arrested for reading out the names of British soldiers killed in Iraq during a remembrance ceremony at the Cenotaph on Whitehall. She was charged with taking part in an “unauthorised demonstration” in a “designated area” under section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) and on 7 December 2005 she became the first person to be convicted under this Act.

The case attracted huge attention in the mainstream media as well as being closely followed by activists across the country,…

With this manifesto, Gorbachev adds his voice to the growing roar of those calling for universal and lasting social justice, and does so in a manner that is both diplomatic and urgent. He describes with passion how poverty, environmental destruction and war are the inseparable consequences of endemic political failure, and laments the opportunity squandered by consecutive US governments to implement a new era of peace and disarmament following the end of the Cold War.

He finds rampant consumerism, a lack of democratic accountability…

Worlds Apart is a comparison of the dual worlds of formal and non-formal (or democratic) education. As the publisher's name implies, the book is written by a supporter of free education but it cannot be accused of being overly partisan in its approach. It seeks, rather, to cut through prejudice on both sides and to provide information through the words of the schools and the pupils themselves. It would be fair to say that positive and negative aspects come out of both accounts although the balance comes down in favour of the liberal…

Written and directed by best selling War Plan Iraq author Milan Rai - and featuring interviews with Bruce Kent and Michael Foster MP, as well as a host of Vox Pops from the proverbial man/woman in the street - this DVD is an excellent, short, and thought-provoking primer, explaining why the UK Government's “war on terror” is not only wrong but is actually endangering UK citizens.

Counter terror: Build Justice demonstrates clearly how alQaeda draws upon legitimate grievances to create a reservoir of support - and therefore…

Having made a living out of ridiculing the evil antics of arms companies and other corporate criminals in his stand-up shows and on national television, Mark Thomas has finally got round to writing his first book.

Unsurprisingly, the butt of his written jokes is of course the arms trade. Well, the arms trade, the government, fellow activists and anyone else he cares to point the finger at. Starting with a good old rant about “why the reader should care about the arms trade”, it's clear that the book is not aimed at well informed die…

At the end of the 18th century well over three-quarters of humanity lived in bondage of one form or another, in a world in which, in the words of one historian, “freedom, not slavery, was the peculiar institution”. This amazing book - packed full of unforgettable heroes and villains - tells the story of the pivotal role played by popular campaigning in the termination of two of the worst manifestations of this global system: the British slave trade and Britain's West Indian slave plantations.

Assembling in 1787, British…

Despite weak reviews in the mainstream left press, I really wanted to like this album.

Having nominally followed Franti's musical career since his early work with the Beatnigs in the late 80s, through Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy in the early 90s, and later into Spearhead, I feel like I have witnessed a decline in musical passion over the years. Perhaps age, fatherhood and a penchant for weed have mellowed him a little too much. However, Spearhead's numerous albums have spanned an incredibly wide range of styles and arrangements…

A veteran of the anti-roads movement, Jo Wilding first travelled to Iraq in August 2001 as part of the UK anti-sanctions movement, returning in February 2003 to witness the (re)invasion and then again in November 2003 to tour the country with the circus of the title. In April 2004 she was one of a tiny handful of internationals to witness the US siege of Fallujah first-hand, riding an ambulance in the city (over 300 women and children were killed during the siege as fighter bombers attacked residential areas and US snipers fired on unarmed…

Twenty-five years after the Greenham march, David Fairhall has contributed an enjoyable and informative history of Greenham Common.

It doesn't plod chronologically through the decades, but mixes the more interesting vignettes of the women's peace camp into the wider political and military context. As a history of a place it also includes quite detailed accounts of the complex legal manoeuvres which led to the partial restoration of the common. The women's peace camp is treated considerately and it makes entertaining reading.…

Perhaps for most women who had a close involvement with Greenham, a new book on the subject will be approached with a certain trepidation. Over the years there have been a few - some written by academics, others by women who lived at the camp - and for reasons including remoteness and subjectivity, none has been fantastically well-received. One reason for this is that not one of us has the “whole story”. We each have our own - and we know it.

In this book however, Ann Pettit has managed, with good humour, incisive wit and a solid…