Customer Reviews

The Moral Architecture of World Peace: Nobel Laureates Discuss Our Global Future (Page-Barbour Lectures)

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This book provides thought-provoking insights into a group of amazing women and men whose activism gained them the title Nobel peace prize laureate: His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Tibet), Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Betty Willians (Northern Ireland peace activist), Jody Williams and Bobby Muller (international treaty to ban landmines), Oscar Arias Sánchez (former Costa Rican president and architect of a peace accord in Central America), Rigoberta Menchú (indigenous-rights activist), José Ramos-Horta (East Timorese independence activist), and Aung San Suu Kyi (Burmese democratic leader), who had to be represented by Harn Yawnghwe as she remains under house arrest.

What I really liked is the way Helena Cobban, the author/editor (it is difficult to separate the two roles in this case), wove together pieces of the speeches these people made at a two day conference at the University of Virginia with their personal interactions and exchanges. The latter were in some instances far more revealing of both the similarities and differences in how the laureates view peacemaking than were their more public comments, as they meant grappling with really tough issues of trade-offs in situations where no action seems exactly "right.".

Another strength of the book is that it doesn't gloss over the difficulties and sacrifices involved in doing peace work. These women and men have often experiences great personal challenges because of their activitism. This has led them to a variety of conclusions about, for instance, moral accountability versus reconciliation and the importance of personal transformation.

This will be my holiday gift for several friends and family members who care about our shared world and the personal, spiritual, economic, and political challenges that peacemaking raises.