The Road to Peace: Writings on Peace and Justice [Paperback]

Henri J. M. Nouwen (Author), John Dear (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Every phrase of Henri Nouwen's life expressed his conviction that intimacy with Christ requires active involvement with powerless people in the world. This conviction is the organizing theme of The Road to Peace, edited by John Dear, which contains dozens of essays, interviews, and occasional writings. His reflections on the March on Selma in 1965, the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr., the legacy of Oscar Romero, and his work with handicapped people at the L'Arche communities are especially affecting. Because this book so thoroughly integrates Nouwen's spiritual beliefs and social concerns, The Road to Peace may be the best one-volume introduction to his work available. --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Author

For more information on the life and works of Henri J.M. Nouwen, please visit HenriNouwen.org .

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Orbis Books (January 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570751927
• ISBN-13: 978-1570751929
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #715,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Henri Nouwen was born in Holland in 1932 and ordained a Catholic priest in 1957. He obtained his doctorandus in psychology from Nijmegen University in the Netherlands and taught at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard. He experienced the monastic life with Trappist monks at the Abbey of the Genesee, lived among the poor in Latin America with the Maryknoll missioners, and was interested and active in numerous causes related to social justice. After a lifetime of seeking, Henri Nouwen finally found his home in Canada, as pastor of L'Arche Daybreak - where people with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers live together in community.

Henri Nouwen wrote over 40 books on spirituality and the spiritual life that have sold millions of copies and been translated into dozens of languages. His vision of spirituality was broad and inclusive, and his compassion embraced all of humankind.

He died in 1996. His work and his spirit live on.

Henri Nouwen pronounced his name "Henry Now-en." For more information on his life and work, please visit www.henrinouwen.org .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Revealing new dimensions of Henri Nouwen, April 14, 1998

By 

Kevin (Belmont, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Road to Peace: Writings on Peace and Justice (Hardcover)

In 1989, Jesuit activist John Dear was demonstrating in Washington with a group of homeless people when he was arrested. While waiting in jail he discovered that he had a slim volume by Henri Nouwen, recently given to him by a Trappist monk friend, in his coat pocket. Dear began reading it and was hooked. He subsequently wrote to Nouwen and so began a correspondence of faith and friendship that lasted until Nouwen's death in 1996.

In `The Road to Peace', Dear presents an under-appreciated aspect of Henri Nouwen, the dimension of social responsibility that Dear sees as underpinning all of his writings, and was a significant part of his life. Dear's collection gathers for the first time nearly all of Nouwen's writings on peace, social justice, and disarmament.

We learn enough about Dear in his 25-page introduction to know that he himself is a deeply committed and experienced social activist. (Following an anti-nuclear Ploughshare demonstration, for instance, he spent eight months in a US jail, and a further five months under house arrest.) So when Dear says that social justice is a key dimension of Nouwen's spirituality and that he is an inspiring and challenging writer for social activists, he believe him.

A key part of Dear's introduction is a well-composed account of Nouwen's life, which also reveals the extent to which social concerns were a part of his life as well as his thought. To give one example, following an impromptu visit to Nicaragua, Nouwen undertook a six-week tour of the US denouncing the nation's involvement in the contra-war, which culminated in a bomb threat against the writer.

Nouwen's writings challenge his readers to recognize that solidarity with, and action on behalf of, our wounded world is an essential part of spirituality, while activists are challenged to deepen their inner contemplative life, without which they are vulnerable to despair.

`The Road to Peace' includes a number of previously unpublished texts, most notably a 50-page `Spirituality of Peacemaking', a! s well as a talk on AIDS, interviews with the writer, his reflections on the legacies of Thomas Merton and Oscar Romero, and writings on his life with handicapped persons at L'Arche.

`The Road to Peace' is a substantial, significant and original addition to the Nouwen corpus that will be widely welcomed. [Book of the Month Selection, John Garratt Catholic Book Club.]

5.0 out of 5 stars Social Justice, January 9, 2010

By 

H. Villalpando (Elsa, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Road to Peace: Writings on Peace and Justice (Paperback)

Interesting articles on what peace really means and how to live out the Catholic call to social justice.