Nonviolence as a means of propagating new religious ideas or social reforms has been used throughout history. Many historical figures, including Jesus, have risen to new heights of humanity by successfully utilizing nonviolent techniques in the socio-religious sphere. The virtues of nonviolent methods are sacrifice, love, compassion, and commitment. Those who use these approaches effectively need to swim against the tide.

Mohandas K. Gandhi is credited with fusing nonviolence into a technique for mass struggle, especially for opposing powerful immoral states. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela became famous for following Gandhi in this use of nonviolence for political struggles and for using these techniques against inequalities based on race.

The tribe of nonviolent preachers and practitioners is gradually increasing, and there is an urgent need to popularize the life and deeds of both these well-known personalities and many activists who are much less known. This may inspire a younger generation of activists. This book is an exemplary contribution in this direction, especially for its erudite and scholarly profiles of these less famous peacemakers.

Michael True is an internationally renowned peace researcher, who, with his background as a Professor of English literature, is well versed in the art of story telling. The method of portraying fifty lives helps to personalize and universalize the success stories of nonviolent struggle.

Kenneth Boulding and Elise Boulding, who made important theoretical contributions to peace studies, are included. The story of Franz Jagerstatter, an Austrian farmer executed for refusing to be drafted into the Nazi Army, is an inspiring one.

The author says that the title is associated with the nonviolent overthrow of Marcos in the Philippines in 1986. As in this example, True illustrates the fact that peacemakers are often ordinary people. The emphasis in People Power is on the effectiveness of nonviolent methods for transforming conflicts. Yet the title may be called into question.

Are these examples of people power, or examples of the power of positive leadership to affect history?

Along with individual portraits, the author has also profiled organizations and uprisings which have used nonviolent techniques for socio-political transformations. The author was an eyewitness to the uprising of Chinese students who brought millions of Chinese into the streets to protest the lack of democracy in 1989. The author quotes Orville Schell, who described that campaign as "one of the largest and best organized nonviolent political protest movements the world has ever seen." It's important to chronicle the dramatic impact students and youth can have on social movement organizing.

The inclusion of Vandana Shiva is also a welcome gesture on the part of the author, as protests against ecological violence are an important yet neglected area in peace studies. One may argue that some other equally important Indian nonviolent campaigners should have been included in this volume. Medha Patekar, Baba Ampte, and Sunder Lal Bahuguna, amongst others, played a major role in propagating Gandhian techniques of nonviolent conflict resolution in the Indian context. These campaigners have used nonviolent struggle to protest the displacement of villagers in order to build big dams, to save trees in the Himalayas, and to fight for the rights of indigenous people.

I missed the inclusion of Johan Galtung, considered one of the founders of the discipline of peace studies, and author of the concept of structural violence. Arne Naess and his concept of deep ecology is also missing in the book. Such omissions are inevitable and narrowing the field is the prerogative of any expert who needs to choose a finite number of subjects. It does not minimize the importance of the book.

In its totality, this is an excellent addition to the existing literature. People Power is not only a good piece of writing for the layperson, but also a source for research scholars and students. Its publication in India by a leading publisher in social science has increased its availability to the public and will also help popularize peace studies in South Asia.