Peace at Any Price: How the World Failed Kosovo (Crises in World Politics)

Book Description

In June 1999, after three months of NATO air strikes had driven Serbian forces back from the province of Kosovo, the United Nations Security Council authorized creation of an interim civilian administration. Under this mandate, the UN was empowered to coordinate reconstruction, maintain law and order, protect human rights, and create democratic institutions. Six years later, the UN's special envoy to Kosovo, Kai Eide, described the state of Kosovo: "The current economic situation remains bleak. . . . respect for rule of law is inadequately entrenched and the mechanisms to enforce it are not sufficiently developed. . . . with regard to the foundation of a multiethnic society, the situation is grim."

In Peace at Any Price, Iain King and Whit Mason describe why, despite an unprecedented commitment of resources, the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), supported militarily by NATO, has failed to achieve its goals. Their in-depth account is personal and passionate yet analytical and tightly argued. Both authors served with UNMIK and believe that the international community has a duty to intervene in regional conflicts, but they suggest that Kosovo reveals the difficult challenges inherent in such interventions. They also identify avoidable mistakes made at nearly every juncture by the UN and NATO. We can be sure that the international community will be called on to intervene again to restore the peace of shattered countries. The lessons of Kosovo, cogently presented in Peace at Any Price, will be critically important to those charged with future missions.

Customer Reviews:

Incisive and Compelling.......2007-05-16

In the past decade, Kosovo has only ever hit the headlines because of violence and tragedy. Ethnic cleansing, war crimes, NATO intervention: these events dominated the news agenda for the first six months of 1999 and defined Kosovo's international reputation. Sadly, destruction is more telegenic than construction, and the important attempts to steer Kosovo towards a better future have received far less attention.

The authors' task is to tell the story of the UN mission that has administered Kosovo from the early days after NATO intervention through to - presumably - its imminent independence (conditional, supervised or however formulated). This is the first significant study of UNMIK, and succeeds brilliantly in illuminating its challenges, dilemmas and limitations.

From its uncertain first steps, by 2001 UNMIK oversaw the largest per-capita investment in peacebuilding that the world has ever seen. Yet the returns on that investment have been unimpressive, yielding a host of lessons that the "international community" urgently needs to learn if it is to succeed in elsewhere.

Paying particular attention to the orchestrated ethnic violence of March 2004, the authors convincingly portray an international community consistently unwilling to confront hardliners in the Kosovo Albanian community. This timidity is the source of the failure identified in the title, and has long-term consequences for Kosovo and its population.

As a ground-breaking study, the book almost inevitably left me wanting more. What could UNMIK realistically have achieved, given the timeframe and resources available? How much influence could a short-term mission - however well-resourced - really exert over Kosovo's long-term development? Social and political change is a long-term process, yet western politics - under the scrutiny of the 24-hour media - demands rapid results. Do we really have the stomach for the necessary long-term engagement, or are we content simply with the illusion that something is being done?

Necessarily, the authors have been more conservative in their aims, but in exploring UNMIK's successes and failures, they have rendered a great service to those who must grapple with these problems. We can only hope that future Donald Rumsfelds will choose to listen, and be willing to learn.

Black Kettle : The Cheyenne Chief Who Sought Peace but Found War

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Heart-rending of conquest
A Sad Commentary On Our Nineteenth Century Westward Expansion
One American's Most Shameful Episodes
A Great Biography About An Important Man

Black Kettle : The Cheyenne Chief Who Sought Peace but Found War
Thom Hatch
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Finding Sand Creek: History, Archeology, And the 1864 Massacre Site
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ASIN: 0471445924

Book Description

The Compelling, Tragic Story of a Great Cheyenne Chief

As white settlers poured into the west during the nineteenth century, many famous Indian chiefs fought to stop them, including Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Geronimo. But one great Cheyenne chief, Black Kettle, understood that the whites could not be stopped. To save his people, he worked unceasingly to establish peace and avoid bloodshed. Yet despite his heroic efforts, the Cheyennes were repeatedly betrayed and would become the victims of two notorious massacres, the second of which cost Black Kettle his life. In this first biography of black Kettle, historian Thom Hatch at last gives us the full story of this illustrious Native American leader, offering an unforgettable portrait of a chief who sought peace but found war.

Praise For Thom Hatch

The Blue, the Gray, and the Red

"Clear and even-handed. . . . This popular history recounts grim, bloody, lesser-known events of the Civil War. . . . The slaughter of Black Kettle's Cheyennes at Sand Creek . . . forms a devastating chapter."
-Publishers Weekly

The Custer Companion

"Highly recommended . . . a reliable and impartial guide to the subject and literature."
-Library Journal

Custer and the Battle of Little Bighorn

"A work that is readable by itself, meticulously researched and clearly written."
-The Tulsa World

Customer Reviews:

Heart-rending of conquest.......2006-02-10

Thom Hatch hits the mark on Cheyenne Indian Chief Black Kettle's efforts to uphold peaceful relations throughout manifest destiny. Despite broken treaty after broken treaty by the government and gluttonous bone-headed army generals with personal vendettas and lack of respect for the Indians, it is a wonder that Black Kettle maintained his philosophy on peace for so many years.
It is disheartening that the vision of peace is what eventually killed him along with many of his people.
If surviving the brutal and senseless butchery of Sand Creek Massacre by egotistical Colonel Chivington wasn't enough punishment, Black Kettle was to soon afterwards undergo additional tests of endurance from the thoughtless and misguided behavior of the U. S. military and government.
A very persuasive, gripping and touching account of one man's dream of peace.

A Sad Commentary On Our Nineteenth Century Westward Expansion.......2005-08-30

This work explores the efforts of a great Cheyenne chief who, despite his betrayal by the white man, continued his search for peace, only to lose his life in the process. It reveals how Black Kettle stood in stark contrast to Chivington, Sherman, Sheridan, Custer and others, who enthusiastically effected our government's policy of destroying the culture of the Plains Indians and killing, with little or no excuse, innocent tribal menbers. Make no mistake, there were elements within the tribes who were no better. However, one cannot read this well-written account without coming away with a sense of revulsion toward those members of the white power structure and our military who made so little effort to understand a people who were different and to treat them with the respect they deserved. Read this book if you want to know more than one will find within the usual histories written by the victors.

One American's Most Shameful Episodes.......2005-02-08

The title should read, "Black Kettle, the Cheyenne Chief who Sought Life and Found Only Death". This is a difficult book to read because the story is not only true but shameful. As someone from Colorado, I was horrified to learn many of our streets and city areas are named after men who were often theives, liars, opportunists and some even condoned the murder of the Native Americans. One tries to frame the story in the context of the time and the ignorance and the misunderstandings of the of white America, yet in 2005 the site of the Sand Creek massacre is a minor footnote that most Coloradians are unaware and The Black Hills still have not been returned to the Souix, so has our sense of justice towards Native Americans really changed? The book does a excellent, informative telling of the story of a very shameful part of Colorado and American history.This is the story of an exceptional man who rightly always believed in peace but wrongly believed in the U.S. government. We should be reminded of this past and never forget the genocide that was carried out in the country in the name of westward expansion. Black Kettle should be remembered as man who was as great in statue as any American hero.

A Great Biography About An Important Man.......2004-10-17

It has been 140 years since that dark dawn rose over the eastern plains of Colorado bathing the land in blood and gore at Sand Creek. Countless books have been written about the subject, and its story has been recounted in film. Today, there are those who believe it was a massacre, others it was a battle that turned into a massacre, but to all academic historians Chivington's attack upon a sleeping village of Cheyenne and Arapaho was nothing but a massacre turned into a blood bath of unspeakable horror.

A new book by Thom Hatch is now available entitled, "Black Kettle: The Cheyenne Chief Who Sought Peace But Found War" The book is the first ever written biography about the Cheyenne leader. And, Sand Creek is at the center of Black Kettle's life.

Black Kettle is more than a story of one man's life. The story Hatch shares is rich in Plains Indian culture focusing on the Cheyenne people along with their form of government, laws, religion, courtship, and military society. The narrative follows the Cheyenne relationships with other tribes that were both productive and destructive. Hatch also describes life for the Cheyenne after the white man enters the scene. Hatch's passages about the warrior societies are filled with pageantry, color, and ritual.

Much of what Hatch discusses in this portion of the book has been written before, but Black Kettle finally becomes a human being instead of just a symbol of the wrongs committed against the Indians. After Black Kettle witnessed the peace gathering between his people and the Kiowas, Hatch explains its effect upon the Cheyenne leader.

"Perhaps this event made enough of an impression upon Black Kettle that it served as a lesson in shaping his future role as a man who believed that peace with any enemy - even the white man - was attainable if both parties were honorable and sincere with their promise to become friends."

The centerpiece of any story around Black Kettle has to be the Sand Creek Massacre and Hatch does not disappoint the reader. There can be no honest telling of Sand Creek that doesn't move the reader, and the story of Black Kettle at Sand Creek is powerful. Black Kettle leads as many of his people as he can to safety to the Sand Pits except for his wife, Medicine Woman Later, who is shot down near the creek in a hail of bullets.

At twilight, Black Kettle returns to find his wife as the soldiers commit the atrocities around him. Finding Medicine Woman Later still alive, Black Kettle carries her on his back for miles until he catches-up with the survivors, who by now are moving northeast away from the killing field. Putting his wife on a horse, Black Kettle leads his people to the Dog Soldier camps.

So ends the Sand Creek Massacre, but far more of the life of Black Kettle follows. A true leader is one that stands up for what he believes, never wavers, and makes decisions based solely on the betterment of his people, not for how it might make his life better. Black Kettle was such a leader. Black Kettle continued to sue for peace from the white man, even after Sand Creek, even though many of his people chastised him for it, even though the intimidation of the Dog Soldiers tried to stop him. Black Kettle knew his people would be doomed if they continued to fight the people moving into their lands. He believed peace was the only choice the Cheyenne had to save what they could of their way of life.

Tom Hatch brings us the complete life of Black Kettle -- his analysis of the man's life and the events surrounding it is fresh, bold, and provides new challenges for future researches.

Healing Rage: Women Making Inner Peace Possible

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precise, insightful, practical and understanding

Healing Rage: Women Making Inner Peace Possible
Ruth King
Manufacturer: Sacred Spaces Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Inrage: Healing the Hidden Rage of Child Sexual Abuse
Soothing the Inner Flames of Rage - Meditations that Educate the Heart & Transform the Mind
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Calming The Family Storm: Anger Management For Moms, Dads, And All The Kids
The Anger Workbook for Women: How to Keep Your Anger from Undermining Your Self-Esteem, Your Emotional Balance, and Your Relationships (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)

ASIN: 0975425803

Book Description

Healing Rage offers contemplative guidance to women, and those who love them. Readers learn how to heal generations of oppressed and displaced rage. We:

· Recognize the Rage/Shame Duo and its roots in childhood trauma.

· Discover our disguises of rage, why we wear them, and how we deny them.

· Discover our riddles of rage in relationships and dreams.

· Learn how to uproot our rage inheritance and amend its soil.

· Become healthier by accessing our rage energy rather than letting it fester and poison our body and mind.

· Learn to center ourselves again and again as we become intimate with the truth of our rage.

· Learn how to stay true to ourselves when others are raging.

· Learn how to stop contributing to our own suffering and to generations of rage.

Readers discover that the pure nature of rage is liberation, and its wisdom ignites our deepest, most heartfelt intentions. We acknowledge rage as fuel—the source of our empowerment, and utilize personal rage to live and love in outrageous dignity.

Customer Reviews:

precise, insightful, practical and understanding.......2004-10-20

I have sought advice either through my therapists or self-help books and friends over the years in healing my inner rage. I recently read King's book and find it to be insightful, thoroughly understanding and precise in the aspects and the process of rage. How we become enraged spirits to how we contaiminate our spirits and others around us...to how we can arise above it, love our "rage child", and be one w/ our inner peace. Thus, we may also bring about a legacy of world peace... I'm so glad that I read this book... Hope you will find this book helpful... for those who have experienced childhood abuse/ traumas and in seeking to "heal" our wounds. King offers wise and practical advise in pacifying the inner anger and healing the pain.

Women of Faith Devotions for Women on the Go, Volume 3: Messages of Freedom and Peace (Women of Faith)

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Wonderful msgs and Songs

Women of Faith Devotions for Women on the Go, Volume 3: Messages of Freedom and Peace (Women of Faith)
Thomas Nelson
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Devotions for Women on the Go #2: Messages of Love, Faith, Joy and Purpose (Women of Faith)
Devotionals for Women on the Go: Women of Faith Audio Book Devotional Series (Women of Faith)

ASIN: 0718019571

Book Description

The Women of Faith Conference speakers and friends share messages from their hearts to help you grow spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. Each volume in the Women of Faith Audio Series contains forty Scripture selections and devotions from the Women of Faith Devotional Bible combined with anecdotes, live quotes from the conferences, and inspiring background music.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful msgs and Songs.......2007-07-11

I went to the women of faith Conference with my mom in law. She got me this one as a gift. I listen to it everday at office. Just 5 mins. Well sung hymn and a short message with quotes from the Bible is a wonderful way to begin your day. I would recommend it to working women like me.

Erasmus: The Education of a Christian Prince with the Panegyric for Archduke Philip of Austria (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)

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Intresting protrayal of Humanists Ideas

Erasmus: The Education of a Christian Prince with the Panegyric for Archduke Philip of Austria (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)
Erasmus
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Austria | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History & Theory | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Reference | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Constant: Political Writings (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)

ASIN: 0521588111

Book Description

This is a new student edition of Erasmus' crucial treatise on political theory and also contains a new, excerpted translation from his Panegyric. The Education of a Christian Prince is one of the most important "advice-to-princes" texts published in the Renaissance and was dedicated to Charles V. It is a strongly pacifist work in which Erasmus sought to ensure that the prince governed justly and benevolently. This edition also includes an original introduction, a chronology of the life and work of Erasmus, and a comprehensive guide to further reading.

Customer Reviews:

Intresting protrayal of Humanists Ideas.......2001-02-25

The Education of A Christian prince is qutie intresesting and really gives you a sense of how the Renaissance was and kinda what people were thinking know that they didn't follow the church so strictly and that the were free to write their ideas and with the help of the printing press were able to spread the ideas like wildfire to the rest of Europe through books such as this one.

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The King's Peace
Masterpiece
Impressive debut
Plodding and just outright boring
Fabulous fantasy!

The King's Peace (Sulien)
Jo Walton
Manufacturer: Tor Fantasy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0765343274

Book Description

Sulian ap Gwien was seventeen when the Jarnish raiders came. Had she been armed when they found her, she could have taken them all. As it was, it took six of them to subdue her. She will never forgive them. Thus begins her story-a story that will take her to Caer Tanaga, where King Urdo struggles to bind together the squabbling nobles and petty princes into a unified force that will drive out the barbarians and restore the King's Peace.Ringing with the clash of arms, rich with high magic and everyday life, The King's Peace is an epic of great deeds and down-to-earth people, told in language with the strength and flexibility of sharpened steel.

Customer Reviews:

The King's Peace.......2007-05-16

This is a really good book. It takes a little getting into -- there is a lot of local terminology used in the world and none of it is explicitly defined. And there isn't a glossary. I was annoyed at first, but I finally realized that it was OK really, because the old woman is telling her story to people who don't remember what she lived through. So we're all in the same boat. We learn the language from its usage.

I read a lot of the fantasy series. This is up there with the best.

Masterpiece.......2006-03-18

I read this book about a year ago. It was so immersive and so beautiful. The author is very talented. I could not put it down. I would stay up hours past my bedtime to read it. I rarely read, but this book grabbed ahold and wouldn't let go!

Impressive debut.......2006-02-22

Jo Walton's first novel is a vivid and compelling "remix" of the Arthurian saga. Its strengths reside in the clean, uncluttered prose and likable protagonist, Sulien. In tone and themes, it is reminiscent of Cornwell's The Winter King, and I wonder if that novel influenced Walton. The similarities include the conflict between the old gods and the new god, the emphasis on heavy cavalry, and the focus on Arthur (or Urdo) as a warlord as much as a king. In my opinion, the flaws include a weak supporting cast and a disappointing ending. The primary characters are well drawn, but the secondary characters seem interchangeable. It does not help that they are all named "ap Something," which, while in sync with the time and place of the novel, does not help to differentiate one armiger from another. The novel also ends abruptly without a satisfying resolution. I think that the climax of the novel is the defeat of the Jarns, and the denouement is the establishment of the peace, and that is where the novel should have ended. I also believe that Sulien is too heroic. She rarely makes mistakes, and it is too easy to support her because she is always correct and righteous. Character growth tends to take place when characters learn from their failures; however, Sulien never fails. Despite these quibbles, The King's Peace is fine, near-epic fiction, and Walton is now on my short list of authors to anticipate.

Plodding and just outright boring.......2005-04-10

I suppose it's unfair of me to write a review of a book that I could barely finish, however if it prevents someone interested in good fantasy from picking up this monotonous work so be it. I must state that I wholeheartedly enjoyed Ms. Waltons "Tooth and Claw" this novel however lacks imagination and thoughtfulness. The main character Sulien lacks the dimension to carry this story she is raped and then finds friendship with her rapist, we are to believe that she has a child, loves him but then leaves him in the care of people she dislikes and who practice a religion she does not respect.

Time passes in chunks, background that would have been helpful in fleshing out the story is overlooked for the next battle. Sulien is hostile to her mother but we are never told why. She at one point in the story is granted lordship and land but refuses it (guess she forgot about her son being cared for free of charge by those monks) to continue serving Urdo, a lifeless, uninspiring king who spits out the necessary reassuring platitudes.

I cannot imagine how Ms Walton stretched this god awful story into multiple books while cutting out so many details that would have made the story a worthwhile read.

Fabulous fantasy!.......2004-08-05

Urdo is King Arthur has he should have been....and might have been. Ms. Walton's expert handling of the time period, coupled with a terrific story, left me wanting more. Highly recommend!

Kings of Peace, Pawns of War: the untold story of peace-making

Average customer rating:

"Kings of Peace, Pawns of War" -Clever, amusing and stimulating

Kings of Peace, Pawns of War: the untold story of peace-making
Harriet Martin
Manufacturer: Continuum International Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

War & Peace | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History & Theory | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0826490573

Book Description

The secret world of international peace deals is exposed in Kings of Peace; Pawns of War, a ground-breaking new book that goes behind the scenes of televised handshakes to reveal what it really takes to broker peace in today's conflicts. Drawing on unparalleled access to some of the world's leading conflict mediators, Kings of Peace provides fascinating insights into the lengthy, fragile and often stormy process of transforming war into peace.
Lakhdar Brahimi, former Algerian Foreign Minister, brokered a deal in Afghanistan, before going on to help - albeit reluctantly - the Americans appoint a government in Iraq; Kenyan General Lazaro Sumbeiywo successfully talked the two sides in South Sudan - Africa's longest running war - into making peace; Peruvian diplomat, Alvaro de Soto, spent five years trying to resolve the Cyprus conflict, only to see his efforts fail at the final hurdle; Briton Martin Griffiths secured the first peace deal in Indonesia's troubled province of Aceh; and the Norwegians Erik Solheim and Vidar Helgesen managed to midwife the ongoing peace process in Sri Lanka. These are extraordinary individuals whose tireless efforts and personal conviction have succeeded in persuading hostile groups to stop fighting often after many others have abandoned peace efforts as a lost cause.
A powerful and important new book, Kings of Peace; Pawns of War shines an intriguing light on a profoundly secretive profession, in which a mediator will meet the American President one day and the world's most wanted terrorist the next, all in the name of brokering a peace deal. Above all, it explores the ethical tightrope that the mediators themselves inevitably walk, between being kings of peace and pawns of war.

"Few professions are more needed today -- and less understood -- than the job of an international conflict mediator. Harriet Martin's vivid story-telling helps us get inside the minds and hearts of six master mediators so we can learn what they do, why they do it, how they fail, and how they succeed. A wonderful read - I recommend it highly!" -William Ury, co-author of Getting to Yes and author of Third Side.

"A fascinating read…the inside story of some of the world's most intractable conflicts, Harriet Martin has secured access to some of the world's most impressive diplomats and she tells their stories with flair." -Owen Bennett-Jones, BBC Newshour presenter and author of Pakistan: Eye of the Storm

"In this highly readable book, Harriet Martin has shed a bright light on the personalities and tactics of modern conflict mediators -- individuals who are rarely heralded, and almost never studied, and yet whose decisions affect the lives of millions. Martin's tales from the front will change the way we see the role of foreigners in conflict. The lessons she draws - if heeded - could dramatically improve the peace-makers' odds." -Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide.

Customer Reviews:

"Kings of Peace, Pawns of War" -Clever, amusing and stimulating.......2006-11-27

With "Kings of Peace, Pawns of War", Harriet Martin has excelled at the often difficult task of giving a human face to the peace-making mechanism of international politics. In fact, her book is very clear to reveal that "the mechanism" of peace-making is entirely human, made up of men and women, with all the human traits that entails -doubts, fears, insecurities, stubborness and, occasionally, the highest possible principles humanity can achieve. Indeed, "Kings of Peace" is a very clever portrayal of the interactions between these human features in conflict situations, and of the hard road peace mediators go through to achieve an agreement between warring parties.

The focus of Martin's book is on six mediators. In each chapter, she analyses the style, the modus operandi and the personality of one of them, through a portrayal of their work in one peace negotiation. Lakhdar Brahimi in Iraq and Afghanistan, Alvaro de Soto in Cyprus, Martin Griffiths in Aceh, Vidar Helgesen and Erik Solheim in Sri Lanka, Lazaro Sumbeiywo in Sudan. Through a very close analysis of the work of each of them in these conflicts, Martin manages not only to shed light on the work of the international peace-mediator (one of the more needed and less understood professions in today's world, according to William Ury), but also of the scenario of the conflicts they worked in. And their characteristics and approach to the negotiation vary a great deal.

Firstly, we have Lakhdar Brahimi, special advisor to the United Nations Secretary General. A former politician and diplomat of his native Algeria, accustumed to dealing with heads of state and big figures, Brahimi's style is the "power broker", relying heavily on the power relations between the parties and managing them in a very skilled and clever manner. Given his long record of negotiation and his mastery of the trade, Martin dons him "the grandfather of UN peace mediation" and assesses the role he had in post-2003 Iraq and Afghanistan, his relationship with the United States ruling structure and how the US administration could have dealt better with the creation of a new Iraq government.

Secondly, Alvaro de Soto. This former Peruvian diplomat, a sophisticated, traveled and extremely intelligent man was the Secretary General's Special Adviser for Cyprus from 1999 to 2004. A firm believer in the UN legal system and in the need to base the process on international law, de Soto relies not only on his authority but also on intellectual tricks to move the discussions forward, earning him the title "chess master". His dealings with the difficult figures of the Cyprus conflict are some of the most instigating passages of the book.

Thirdly, Martin Griffith's chapter is a move away from the official UN peace makers. Griffiths is an independent peace mediator. Working for the Geneva-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (CHD), he is not tied to any intergovernmental institutions but rather represents a new breed of independent mediators (certainly a reflex of the growth of the importance of NGOs in today's world). This is a double-edged sword; while on the one hand he lacks the clout and the weight to impose conditions on the negotiating parties, his independence grants him a dynamism and a free-hand that the somewhat constricted UN officials simply cannot afford. This chapter fuels hope that organizations such as the CHD will grow in number and strength, contributing to the construction of Peace.

Fourthly, the Norwegians Helgesen and Solheim. While often the mediators have a central role in the peace process, this duo places the process on the spotlight, and insists on being referred to as "facilitators", rather than mediators. Harriet Martin wonders, however, if this does not mean that they are the truest, purest mediators of all, as their constant and diligent work behind the scenes (often hampered by Sri Lankan politics) is really what, sotto voce, drives the whole thing forward. Their chapter, covering with their personal dynamics, their determination for the process and the difficult relationship witth the Sri Lankan authorities is perhaps the most intimate and engaging in the book.

Lastly, Sumbeiywo's work as Kenia's Special Envoy to the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in mediating the peace-process in South Sudan 2004-05. Once more, the web of power between big governments, rebels and the superpower come into play, and are faced with the tower of moral authority that Sumbeiywo, a retired Kenyan Lt. General, personifies. His artful manner to put the interests of the Sudanese people above everything, often clashing with big-power interests, creates one of the best quotes in the book: "My interest in peace in the Sudan. Their interest is who has the upper hand when they get peace in the Sudan".

This book raises many stimulating matters, and it would be impossible to cover them all here, given the the way in which Martin, a former journalist and war correspondent, dives deeply into the subject. The complex psychology of mediation, for one, often has the centre stage. In Brahimi's words, "of course you shoot for the moon, but don't say you are going to get to the moon today if it takes you several steps". The interaction between peace-mediation and high politics, both at local and global level, the difference between UN mediators, State mediators and independent mediators... all these points construct the web of power the mediator is faced with every day, and support the very thin high wire they must walk to do their essential job. They have to deal with the two sides, while running the risk of being used themselves for political manipulation (hence the book's title).

The discussion of which should come first, peace or justice, is also raised, and the master negotiators Martin portrays sometimes diverge in this matter. I is possible to imagine, for instance, that Brahimi and Griffiths would be more pragmatic and say that the first thing is to get the peace agreement signed, whereas somebody like de Soto, heavily based on UN law and principles, might argue for legal justice prior to all. Here the unbelievable pressure these professionals have to work under plays an important role. The pressure to get the agreement is best exemplified by a situation faced by Griffiths in Aceh: having to choose between including human rights on paper, in a clause in the agreement, or the human rights of the people of Aceh, who would face a big military crackdown should the controversial clause be included.

Martin still included some very amusing anecdotes, such as the moment Sumbeiywo threatening to shoot the American representative on the negotiating table. Or the time Brahimi did not get up from his chair all through the night, in a symbol of pressure to make the delegations work and conclude the agreement, keeping everybody up. These funny stories contribute to increase the human face of peace-mediation.

In short, "Kings of Peace, Pawns of War" is extremely well recommended. The author ably deals with very complex and overlapping topics, drawing herself a psychological profile not only of these six men, but of the intricate world of peace mediation. As William Ury put it, it is crucial that we learn more about the work of peace mediators, it is today more needed than ever. And we often do not credit the amazing minds behind it all.

Walking in the Way of Peace: Quaker Pacifism in the Seventeenth Century

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Walking In The Way of Peace is Illuminating

Walking in the Way of Peace: Quaker Pacifism in the Seventeenth Century
Meredith Baldwin Weddle
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

War & Peace | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 019513138X

Book Description

A synthesis of intellectual and social history, Walking in the Way of Peace investigates the historical context, meaning, and expression of early Quaker pacifism in England and its colonies. In a nuanced examination of pacifism, Weddle focuses on King Philip's War, which forced New England Quakers, rulers and ruled alike, to define the parameters of their peace testimony.

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Walking In The Way of Peace is Illuminating.......2002-05-06

Impeccably researched, Ms. Weddle's book illuminates the unstudied area of the practice of pacifism, as it was in England, then on board ships to the New World but mostly as the Quaker leaders began to govern the colonies in 17th New England. The Quaker leaders had a huge dilemma as pacifists: on the one hand they faced danger constantly and needed to protect their settlements, on the other hand they had renounced war and fighting as part of their "Peace Testimony". Not unlike today, the leaders were forced into compromises at times while under tremendous pressure to practice their principles. A large focus of the book is King Phillip's War of 1675-1676 between the Indians and English settlers. Ms. Weddle is not only a brilliant scholar but an entertaining storyteller, the book is a feast of captivating stories. History, philosophy, and theology buffs should have this in their libraries, certainly, but any reader with an inquiring mind and a love for good story should read this book. Looking forward to Ms. Weddle's next work. One suggestion: take your time to savor it. A sparkling concatenation of insights will be the reward.

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A message of great beauty for humanity

Hiawatha and the Great Peace
Torkom Saraydarian
Manufacturer: TSG Publishing Foundation, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 091179428X

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A message of great beauty for humanity.......2000-06-23

This is a profoundly mystical, beautiful and inspiringbook. Words fail to truly describe it. Perhaps, one has to be 'tunedin' to very high vibrations to really be 'in touch' with its depths, its profundity.

It is a Message of great Beauty to humanity ... it is a vision for the Future. One feels deep sadness of heart when one realizes the sorrow and suffering brought to Our beloved Native American brothers as the white man stole his land, starved his people, killed them and forced them to live isolated lives on reservations. But the VISION within this book as revealed by Torkom Saraydarian, gives one hope that one day the GREAT PEACE will come into the hearts of ALL humanity and on- to the planet - making it the Sacred Planet it was designed to be - by the Great Spirit.

Book Description

When former public servant and college president Harris Wofford soundly defeated former governor and U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh for the U.S. Senate in a 1991 special Pennsylvania election, it made national and international news, but few Pennsylvanians or Americans recognized his name.

Yet Wofford had been a special assistant to President John F. Kennedy and was one of the founders of the Peace Corps. During the decade of struggle from Montgomery to Memphis, he was and advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. With independent views of his own, Harris Wofford was witness from within the White House to the bright and the dark side of the Kennedy administration. Focusing on how the politics and ideas came together to shape critical decisions, Wofford’s memoir captures the personal drama of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King as their characters were tested. Of Kennedys and Kings not only makes sense of the sixties, but gives us a glimpse into the issues closest to the heart of one of America’s most interesting senators.

Wofford’s vivid recollections and reflections shed light on the sixties and on the dramatic domestic and international politics of the era. Of Kennedys and Kings provides a timely reminder of what can be accomplished with leaders who are, with all their human feelings, committed to public service and responsible political action.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic!.......2006-11-20

An outstanding history of the Sixties by an outstanding public servant. Harris Wofford makes the era come alive on the page with his first-person experiences with Martin Luther King, President Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. A must read for anyone interested in the decade, the Kennedys, or Martin Luther King. Fantastic!

A candid look at a historic decade.......2003-11-01

Harris Wofford brings the reader to some of the key moments in one of the nation's most tumultuous decades. His stories are genuine because he was there -- a key advisor to John and Robert Kennedy and to Martin Luther King.

Most amazing book I've read in a long time!!!.......2003-10-25

I think this book is a amazing read! I picked up because of an interest in the era (the 60s), and once I started reading I felt as if I was actually living the events Wofford describes in this book. I particularly like his style of writing, and also how he comes across as different to most writers on the Kennedys. Usually it's clear the writer adores the Kennedys (and can see no wrong with them), or hates them (and can see no good in them). Wofford is not like this. He honestly paints the full picture of the two Kennedy men, and Luther King as well.
A thoroughly fascinating read - one I recommend to everyone!

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