Gandhi and Beyond: Nonviolence for an Age of Terrorism Summary and Reviews

Gandhi and Beyond: Nonviolence for an Age of Terrorism
by David Cortright

Gandhi and Beyond: Nonviolence for an Age of Terrorism
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Book Summary Information

Author: David Cortright
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-09
ISBN: 1594512663
Number of pages: 280
Publisher: Paradigm Publishers
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Book Reviews of Gandhi and Beyond: Nonviolence for an Age of Terrorism

Book Review: Very enjoyable and helpful reading on nonviolence
Summary: 5 Stars

I had two misgivings about this book before I began to read it. Both of my misgivings turned out to be unfounded. The first one 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 nonviolence together with today's scholars and his own opinions. It works very well and even though Gandhi and King are familiar to me I learned a lot, especially in a later chapter where he writes about Gandhi's and King's views on gender and sexuality. The second misgiving was the subtitle which made me hesitate if I would buy it or not: `Nonviolence for an Age of Terrorism'. I was afraid that this was another American too hung up on terrorism; like terrorism was the biggest problem humans face today. As a Swede, living in a country who has not been struck by terrorism or taken part in the `war on terrorism' it might be more difficult for me to understand why terrorism is seen as the biggest problem in the world. But I don't really get how that can be the biggest problem when tens of thousands of people are dying every day of poverty. Actually the book doesn't talk very much about terrorism, but poses an important challenge to nonviolent activists. If we want to stop the `war on terror' we ought to be able to provide a better solution to the problem of terrorism than the military does.

I have been racking my brain on how we can be more effective in our nonviolent campaigns. This book gave me a lot of food for thought on the subject. But unlike strategists like Gene Sharp, Cortright doesn't limit nonviolence to its effectiveness. He sees nonviolence not just as a method but as a way of life. He tells about his struggles and his times of doubts about the ideas of nonviolence. My respect and admiration for the author rose after I understood how involved he has been for many decades and still is in the peace movement. Here is a man who not only teaches and writes about Gandhi and King, but actually tries to use their methods in his life. He manages to combines the learnings of the history of nonviolence with the nonviolent movement of today - a potent combination that we need more of. I am sure military analysts sit day in and day out trying to analyze yesterday's battles to learn how to fight more effectively tomorrow. We nonviolent activists have something to learn from the military in that sense. Cortright's book really highlights the importance of making this analysis and to learn from our mistakes.

The book gives a refreshing criticism of our nonviolent icons. I had heard negative rumours about Gandhi and King but was unsure if they were true. According to this book some of them were and some were not. But Cortright makes a more important point - you can admire one part of a human's life - like Gandhi's nonviolent struggle against the British occupation while at the same time be deeply critical of another part of the same person's life - like Gandhi's warped views on gender and sexuality. Cortright rightly points out that we should not expect flawless leaders. Talking about leaders, I have been embarrassed to keep coming with nothing but male nonviolent role models in my nonviolent workshops. So I was happy to find two great female role models in this book; Dorothy Day and Barbara Deming. Two women who really deserve more appreciation for their contributions in the nonviolence struggle.

In the end of the book Cortright gives us some practical tools to use in the nonviolent struggle were he emphasizes the importance of setting up concrete and achievable goals and warning us from disregarding the importance of mundane work like fund-raising and working effectively with the media. He also encourages us to try new, creative and some times more risky nonviolence methods; not always the petitions, demonstrations but also boycotts, strikes, blockades and sit-ins. These types of methods have proved to be the most effective in the nonviolence movement according to the author.

We who work for peace and justice face incredible challenges. It is easy to get discouraged when you see what you are up against. Cortright gives us hope in spite of this. He shows many examples of how nonviolence has made fantastic gains the last decades. There have been victories even in the cases were it seemed we failed. And it takes time, some times a very long time, to change for the better. What we need in the struggle is persistence and hope according to Cortright. Both these traits have grown stronger in me while reading this book.


Martin Smedjeback, secretary of nonviolence in Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation

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