Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Kurlansky

Mark Kurlansky's treatise, Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea, examines the effectiveness of nonviolence as a means to create change in socity.  Kurlansky explores the failures of violences to be effective in exacting real change as well as why leaders, countries, and people accept, excuse, and advocate violence when nonviolence would garner greater results.  The reasons are often simple but just as often convaluted and almost always self-serving.  He uses examples of nonviolence from history that lead to change as well as examples of violence that created chaos or appeared to overshadow the nonviolent methods of real change. Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea is thought provoking, interesting, well-researched and well-written if a bit academic at times.