Give Peace a Deadline: What Ordinary People Can Do to Cause World Peace in Five Years [Hardcover]

Nathan Otto and Amber Lupton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2009

For many, peace is an elusive dream; true advances toward this communal goal have been few. But Give Peace a Deadline bursts through the barrier of apathy to show individual readers how they can actually help achieve world peace in just five years. By adopting action through access, a trailblazing approach to activism, the authors build on technological advances in both communication and collaboration to present a well-defined plan to end global conflict. By applying business disciplines, such as professional management and result measurement, to the peace-making process, Nathan Otto and Amber Lupton have ignited a revolution for global peace that will attract a broad range of peace seekers ready for immediate action and real results. Otto and Lupton don t just offer theories and concepts. Through connections with world leaders, major corporations, leading peace activists, and international media, the authors have developed a broad marketing platform for their peace program. And for readers who are ready to take responsibility for achieving peace, Give Peace a Deadline is a beacon of hope in tumultuous times.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 273 pages
• Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press (February 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929774869
• ISBN-13: 978-1929774869
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,305,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars You could be in for a rude awakening, February 18, 2009

By 

Scott A. Todd (Cambridge MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Give Peace a Deadline: What Ordinary People Can Do to Cause World Peace in Five Years (Hardcover)

I confess up front I've only read excerpts of this book, but if the rest is anything like what I read, I can't be as optimistic as they are. Thomas Sowell so eloquently put it that we can have peace tomorrow if we're willing to risk slavery or even death. I can't see how anyone can negotiate with radicalized Islam no matter how it may profit the human race. They want world Islam, which they see as the only thing that truly is profitable. They're not interested in profits the way the authors are.

Nor could we negotiate with the old Soviet Union. While we were able to win the cold war without firing a shot, we only did it by bankrupting them. They' weren't interested in profits either. They wanted world communism. I don't doubt the authors' good intentions and much of what they say can benefit mankind whether war is abolished or not, but the entire fallacy of this book seems to be that everyone thinks or can be made to think like us. I'm gratified they mentioned that often governments and NGOs often have wasteful and incomplete programs to help the poor. That alone kept me from giving it only one star.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good example of how to accomplish a goal, February 17, 2009

By 

A. C. Thompson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Give Peace a Deadline: What Ordinary People Can Do to Cause World Peace in Five Years (Hardcover)

This book not only shows how peace is possible, it teaches you how to reach a goal, how to accomplish things. It was written by people who know how to get things done, and it can teach you how to do it also, specifically in the area of peace (which is important).

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars omg FUH-NEY book, April 28, 2010

By 

Deena Sao (Lowell, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Give Peace a Deadline: What Ordinary People Can Do to Cause World Peace in Five Years (Hardcover)

This book was funny. Only it wasn't a comedy. It was serious. Which makes it really pathetic. When I picked it up I was skeptical, but I thought, hey, even if the goal isn't achievable, at least maybe it will have some good ideas in it.

But no.

No. It does not have some good ideas.

It does have very funny ideas peppered through-out. Like "get some friends to join you".

One of the most provocative bumper stickers I've ever seen says "World peace begins at home". And that makes me think of domestic violence. There will be no world peace until all domestic violence and sexual abuse has ended. Whew, that goal is overwhelming enough to think about. How about school bullying- like the kind that caused Phoebe Prince to commit suicide? How about FGM? Hate crimes? Then you add to that list all the specific tribal and governmental wars going on; the genocide in Rwanda, etc; you've got yourself a pretty daunting list of "non-peace" to deal with in five years. The only way to tackle a goal like that is to take each issue one by one and come up with a plan for end in five years. Say... negotiate with some leaders, assassinate the ones who will not negotiate, numerous peace accords, and the one suggestion the book does make: financial sanctions. Is that list and time-line realistic? No, it's laughable.

As a Christian, I can't help but reflect on the Biblical prophesies concerning peace, which claim that Israel and Palestine will not achieve peace until the end of time. It says that there will be a 1000 years of peace, but that's only after the second coming of the Messiah. So, unless the Messiah is coming in 2014, I do not foresee World Peace.

I admire the book for suggesting that there are specific things we can do to achieve world peace. That is a fresh outlook to the subject. But it's completely unrealistic and unhelpful. I would have respected it if the authors took each "non-peace" conflict currently going on and wrote a chapter on how to solve that particular problem and included a tip on what you can do about it. Tips like:

* Don't buy blood diamonds
* Only pay for items a price which would allow for living-wages for the workers who produced said item
* Volunteer at an orphanage in Romania
* Know a good hit-man? Call this 800 number to recommend him, we will need him to take out (fill in the blank) dictator.