"Boys Will Be Boys: Breaking the Link between Masculinity and Violence". Miedzian, Myriam. Doubleday, 1991. This book provides statistically backed research explaining why 90%+ of our prisons are filled with men, why poor male youth are most likely to be causes or victims of violence, the links between men and war, sports and violence, TV and violence, and generally how our culture currently promotes violence in males. Rating - 5 star

"Boys Will Be Men" by Paul Kivel.  Great book for getting boys "out of the box" whether single or dual parenting & regardless of parent's sexual orientation.

  It's worth a closer look!   “The Breakthrough Experience: A Revolutionary New Approach to Personal Transformation” by Dr, John F. Demartini.  ISBN 1-56170-885-2.  Published By Hay House Inc. May 2002.  263 pages.  This book is an extremely real and practical manual for understanding why we live the way we do, and how to transform our lives into our highest vision. You will learn a formula to manifest your dreams, discover the secrets of opening your heart beyond anything you have imagined, find out how to increase love and appreciation for every aspect of your life, receive profound insights on how to create more fulfilling and caring relationships, reawaken your birthright as a true genius, transcend the fears and illusions surrounding the myth of death, and reconnect with your true mission and purpose on Earth. That is all true, but mainly, this book will deeply touch and inspire you with respect to your own greatness and potential—and the magnificence of every single human soul. This is not just a book, it is what the title implies—an Experience—and it is impossible to go through it without being moved, challenged, and changed. 5 star must reading.    [This link provides a summary of what I highlighted during my read of this excellent book -- I recommend it on my Top-ten List of Peace resources.  My purpose in providing them is to interest you, the reader, and hope that you will obtain and read the complete work.  To properly understand the highlights, you need to read the book to put them in the proper context.]

Chicken Soup for the Peace Lover's Soul http://chickensoup.peacestories.info/ - Do you have a true story about how you or someone else successfully made peace where it was needed? If you do, please consider publishing, or republishing, it in an inspiring book about people who used the creative POWER of NON-VIOLENCE to resolve conflicts and nurture relationships. The forthcoming Chicken Soup for the Peace Lover's Soul will include true selections about people who have experienced peace-making. The short stories, poems, song lyrics, quotes and cartoons included will have multicultural experiences with peace-making that enlighten and inspire readers.

The Courage to Raise Good Men, by Olga Silverstein. Critiques about the pressure on mothers to push their sons away. Excellent.

Crisis Intervention Manual - The Manual Contents: Chapter 1 Research and clinical basis for comprehensive district-wide crisis plan. Foundation for establishing violence prevention and physically/emotionally safe schools. Chapter 2 Components of a good crisis intervention plan, including stages of development.   Chapter 3 Members of the crisis team, roles, responsibilities, recommendations for inservice. Chapter 4 Teams in action; system of communication; making announcements to staff, students, parents; preventing emotional contagion; guidelines for managing quiet room.  Chapter 5 Psychological first aid; being a safe person; tasks of mourning; signs of distress in students by developmental stages; healthy responses; unhealthy responses; dysfunctional responses; dysfunctional families and unresolved losses; responses to trauma; listening and responding to the bereaved. NUMEROUS HANDOUTS THAT CAN BE REPRODUCED FOR STAFF INSERVICE OR USED TO EDUCATE PARENTS.  Chapter 6 Critical incident stress debriefing; symptoms of chronic stress and post traumatic stress; suggestions for self care for staff, school based model that empowers schools to meet the needs of students and staff trauma responses in children.  Chapter 7 Principle of triage; risk factor analysis; sample protocols for all types of crisis including NATURAL DISASTERS, VIOLENCE, HOSTAGE SITUATIONS, SUICIDES, MENTAL HEALTH EMERGENCIES; SUDDEN DEATHS, TERMINAL ILLNESS, AND MORE.  Chapter 8 Emphasis on comprehensive approach that incorporates violence and suicide prevention and life skills acquisition such as conflict resolution, assertive communication, healthy boundaries, anger management, healthy bonding. Support services for students and staff. Protocols for attendance at wakes and funerals, memorial services, and other activities that permit release of feelings.  Chapter 9 Practice drills; incidents for brainstorming for staff development.  Chapter 10 Support group leadership skills; ACTIVITIES THAT CAN BE REPRODUCED AND CONDUCTED WITH STUDENTS either in the classroom or in a support group.   Chapter 11 Evaluating teams.  List of resources Chapter 12 References  http://www.renew.net/manual.htm

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Youth and Violence; Meredith W. Watts, ed.  (Stamford, CN: JAI Press, 1998).  The book brings together authors from a variety of national settings (e.g., United States, Germany, Japan, Brazil) and disciplines (Sociology, Political Science, Educational, Psychology) to focus on questions of youth and violence.  Featured topics are gangs, school bullying, violence by youth groups against foreigners in Europe, and violence done to youth by authorities and adult groups (as in Brazil).  A concluding chapter deals with the perceptions of United States youth about violence in their everyday lives and the potential impact of those perceptions on their sense of community; a variety of possible intervention and pedagogical strategies are also discussed and evaluated.

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler.  Format: Paperback, 256pp. ISBN: 0071401946. Publisher: McGraw-Hill Trade. Pub. Date: June 2002. Retail price US$16.95.  A powerful, seven-step approach to handling difficult conversations with confidence and skill. 

Curriculum - "War: who does anything against it?" An information package for writing a paper or giving a presentation, for pupils of 10-15 years old. (Read it as a PdF file http://www.oneworld.org/euconflict/publicat/war.pdf 3,4 MB!) Download the Acrobat Reader for free! http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

Curriculum - Nonviolence and the Ethics of Social Action, University of Colorado.  Here is a web site that profiles a peace course developed using the service learning model. This course is an examination of the phenomenon of nonviolence as a critical dynamic of social action and social change. Major emphases include: the origins of nonviolence and violence, the logic of nonviolence and the illogic of violence, theories and methods of nonviolence throughout history, contemporary applications of nonviolence, nonviolent conflict resolution, and the ethics of action intended to produce social change. Although the dominant perspective in the course is sociological, it is approached overall from an interdisciplinary perspective. Course objectives include familiarity with: the sociological phenomenon of nonviolence; theories of conflict, social change, power, and nonviolence; religious nonviolence and pacifism; secular nonviolence; the nonviolence of Henry David Thoreau, C. Mohandas K. Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.; an historical overview of nonviolent conflicts; several case studies in nonviolence, including: Gandhian nonviolence in India, nonviolence in the United States - e.g., the civil rights and peace movements - nonviolent social change and transformation in Europe in the late 1980s; and prospects for nonviolent social change in the 21st century.  
 http://csf.colorado.edu/sl/syllabi/peace/crews2025-96.html

Domestic Violence Information Manual - http://www.infoxchange.net.au/wise/DVIM/index.htm

Edmund's summer ethics bookshelf -
BOOKS -
--   A Spiritual Audit of Corporate America, by Ian Mitroff and Elizabeth Denton, Jossey-Bass Publishers.    Based on over a hundred interviews, this book showcases five models for fostering spirituality in the workplace.
--   Book of Ecclesiastes, Holy Bible.
-- * The Death and Life of Great Amercian Cities, by Jane Jacobs, Vintage Press.
--   How Good People Make Tough Choices - resolving the dilemmas of ethical living, by Rushworth M. Kidder, founder of the
Institute for Global Ethics, Fireside Books.
--   The Seat of the Soul, by Gary Zukav, Fireside Books.
-- * Thoughts From The Seat of the Soul - meditations for souls in process, by Gary Zukav, Fireside Books.
--    Soul Stories, by Gary Zukav, Fireside Books.
--    The Ethical Imperative - why moral leadership is good business, by John Dalla Costa, HarperCollins Publishers.
--    The Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle, translated by J.E.C. Welldon, Prometheus Books.
--    Integrity, by Stephen L. Carter, Basic Books.
--    Introducing Ethics, by Dave Robinson and Chris Garatt, Totem Books.
PERIODICALS -
--   Philosophy Now - a magazine of ideas, published bi-monthly, London, England.
--   Business Ethics - corporate social responsibility report, published bi-monthly, Mavis Publications, Minneapolis.
--   Insights on Global Ethics - monthly publication by the Institute For Global Ethics, Camden, Maine.
--   The Globe and Mail - "Ethics 101" weekly column every Monday in Review Section.
--   New York Times Magazine - "The Ethicist" weekly column every Sunday.

Spring 2001Edition of Edutopia (The George Lucas Educational Foundation): Emotional Intelligence - The recent stories of school violence are indicators some critical part of our childrens' development is being ignored. Many psychologists, counselors, educators and others believe the missing piece is teaching young people to manage their emotions, resolve conflict nonviolently and respect differences. A growing body of research is showing that social and emotional learning can help reduce negative behaviors and there is a strong correlation to academic achievement. This 16-page issue presents a number of model K-12 programs where teachers and principals are leading their students to exercise their "emotional muscles" every day.  Featured schools and programs include: New Haven Public Schools; P.S. 15 Patrick Daly Elementary School, Brooklyn, NY; Palm Springs Middle School, Hialeah, FL; Benjamin Franklin Middle School, Ridgewood, NJ; Resolving Conflict Creatively Project (RCCP); Child Development Project (CDP), and the Responsive Classroom.   English Version (484 K) http://www.glef.org/EdutopiaPDF/Spring01.pdf .  Five Star - Must Reading

End Violence Against Women web site (www.endvaw.org) provides policymakers, researchers, health communication specialists and others with the latest information and materials from around the world that are related to violence against women. The site allows the user to access policy documentation, articles and publications on the latest research, training materials and curricula, and communication materials such as videos, brochures and posters.  A comprehensive new web site containing more than 5,000 items from over 400 organizations is now available for professionals working around the globe to end violence against woman developed by The Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP) with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and in cooperation with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).  "Our most recent data show that one out of three women in the world experience abuse in their lifetime," said Phyllis Tilson Piotrow, Professor and Director of JHU/CCP. "By making everything we know conveniently available to a global audience of professionals, we can help them design better programs, promote policies that empower women, and learn from others working in the field to stop the violence against women."  The new site allows visitors to link to hundreds of organizations around the world that are devoted to ending violence against women. More than 400 of these organizations contributed to the information and resources now available at www.endvaw.org. "Knowledge is one of our most powerful weapons in this war," said Roxana Carillo, Human Rights Senior Advisor at UNIFEM. "This vast collection of information and resources arms those working to end violence with the tools they need to help abused women."  Contact: End Violence Against Women, Johns Hopkins Population Information Program, 111 Market Place Suite 310, Baltimore, MD 21202 USA, e-mail: endvaw@jhuccp.org

Families as Educators for Global Citizenship - Edited by Judith A. Myers-Walls, Péter Somlai, and Robert N. Rapoport.  All people and regions of the world are deeply affected by world events, no matter how closely they embrace or how actively they try to resist their impact. This book explores some of the ways globalization has changed and formed children, youth, and families. It defines some of the ways that culture, politics, religion, and world events have altered the
attitudes, behaviors, and well-being of families. It also outlines some of the approaches that families have taken, and could take, in adapting to the changing world around them. Authors provide perspectives from over 20 countries and from many professional backgrounds, including sociology, psychology, religion, political science, peace studies, environmental studies, and economics. Suggestions are given for future research studies, interventions with families, and the construction of
public policies.  Contents: Families as Educators for Global Citizenship: How families teach each their children about the world, Judith A. Myers-Walls; Global
citizenship: an essay on its contradictions, Péter Somlai; Families and globalization: a new social contract and agenda for research, Constance A. Flanagan; Families as educators for global citizenship: additional contributions and reflections, Jens Qvortrup, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Wilfreid Dumon, Lynne Chisholm, Constance A. Flanagan and Robert N. Rapoport. Families, Modernization, and Globalization: Negotiation strategies in modern families: what does it mean for global citizenship?, Manuela du Bois-Reymond; The impact of modernization on elder-care: the case of Taiwan, Hsiang-Ming Justine Kung and Chin-ChunYi; Transformations of family norms: parents' expectations of their children's family life style, Hideki Watanabe; Task sharing and sex role attitudes in Greek returnees: a combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal data, Despina Sakka and Maria Dikaiou; Globalization, community violence and family: an anthropologist's account from Northern
Ghana, Peter Skalník; Reflections from a war zone: a partial essay and memorial tribute, Andjelka Milic; Families, modernization and globalization: additional contributions and reflections, Peter Skalník, Zuzana Kusá, Natalia Lakiza-Sachuk, Evguenia Atchildieva, Judith A. Myers-Walls, Yael Azmon, Jens Qvortrup, Raquel Cohen-Orantes and Saad Eddin Ibrahim. Families as Educators: Hungarian adolescents' attitudes toward their future, peace, and the environment, Olga Tóth; The tradition and change of family education in mainland China, Dai Keijing with Judith A. Myers-Walls; Families as environmental educators in the Sahel, Ousmane Thioune with Judith A. Myers-Walls; War, mothers, and a girl with braids: involvement of mothers' peace groups in the national discourse in Israel, Yael Azmon; Religion, spirituality, and the family: challenges for global citizenship, Jacqueline Haessley and Judith A. Meyers-Walls; The parents' role in educating about war and peace, Judith A. Meyers-Walls; Families as educators: additional contributions and reflections, Willy LaHaye, Furugh Switzer, Margaret Obondo, Raquel
Cohen-Orantes, Hamilton McCubbin and Riitta Wahlsrom.  Edited by Judith A. Myers-Walls, Purdue University, USA , Péter Somlai, University of Eötvös, Hungary and Robert N. Rapoport, formerly of the Institute of Family and Environmental Research, UK ISBN: 1-85972-356-x February 2001 244 pages $69.95 Hardback.  You can order this book online at http://www.ashgate.com.  There is a 15% discount for online orders.  Judith A. Myers-Walls, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Child Development and Family Studies, 1269 Fowler House, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN  47907-1269; phone: 765-494-2959; fax: 765-494-0503; e-mail: myerswal@cfs.purdue.edu

Forty Early Childhood quick reference cards dealing with sibling rivalry, death, grief, bedtime fears, etc. are currently available from our Web site at The Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management
http://www.state.oh.us/cdr/eccards/earlychildhoodcards.htm .  Early Childhood Cards, Learning and Practicing Skills of Peace
Through Every Day Conflicts.  Practical activities and resources for families, teachers and other caregivers.  Listed below is a sample of quick reference cards describing practical activities and resources for families, teachers, and other care givers to
use in training young children in skills of peace. Ages pre-school to 2nd grade. To order these cards contact the Commission directly at 614-752-9595 or submit your Request by e-mail. Cards also available in Spanish.  (Note, go to the site to copy these cards on your computer, they are only a couple of clicks away.)  Anger and Aggression, Disabilities, School, Art Activities, Divorce and Separation, Security Objects, Bad Day, Dressing, Self-Esteem, Bad Language, Fears, Sharing, Bath Time, Fears, Feelings and Emotions, Sickness, Nighttime Fears, Lying, Stealing, Dealing With Misbehavior, Eating, Stress, Activities for Brothers and Sisters, Mistakes, Tantrums, Biting, Nap Time, Time Out, Preventing Conflicts Between Children, New Baby, Transitions, Cultural Diversity, Problem Solving, Whining and Nagging, Death, Safety, Work.  This resource is an outcome of a cooperative effort initiated by the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, with Ohio Head Start Association, Inc. and the Ohio Department of Education - Division of Early Childhood.

Friendly Resources for Teaching Peace http://www.mph.lm.com/planw96.html#s3

From a review by Joanie Connors: I would like to recommend a book I just found out about although it is three years old.  I probably missed it because it is written by family therapists (I take no journals in family therapy), but I think this is a landmark book about the origins of human violence.  The book is "Ghosts from the Nursery: Tracing the Roots of Violence" by Robin Karr-Morse and Meredith Wiley (1997, New York: Atlantic Monthly Press).  The book appears to be heavily rooted in the scientific literature about violence, and it combines research from numerous disciplines in a way that brings us forward a notch in the understanding of violence.   In "Ghosts from the Nursery" the authors assert that the root of violent behavior is in the first 33 months of life.  She presents evidence that early chemical and physical insults to the fetus' (prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs), infant's and toddler's minds alter their cognitive processes enough (high prevalence of ADHD & ADD) that they are later unable to learn about, understand and cope with life's difficulties, whether those difficulties be the loss of social face or a habitually violent home life. They then resort to the black and white logic of violent tactics they've seen modeled either in their home or in the society at large.  The authors make a plea for us to become a more compassionate society that values our babies and young children enough to promote policies focusing on improving their welfare.  Appendix A includes a list of "Factors associated with Violent Behavior that can be Modifies or Prevented by Early Intervention" (pp. 299-300).  These include:

Biological Factors
  Prenatal (0-7 months gestation)
  -Teratogens (drugs, alcohol, nicotine)
  -Malnutrition
  -Genetic factors
  -Chronic maternal stress
  -Minor physical anomalies
 Perinatal (-2 months to +1 month)
  -Delivery complications, birth trauma, head injury
  -Prematurity
  -Low birth weight
 Postnatal (1-24 months)
  -Accidents, head injuries
  -Nutritional factors

General Factors
  -Low verbal IQ
  -Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
  -Post-traumatic stress
  -Exposure to toxins

Familial Factors
  -Parental mental illness
  -Criminal father
  -Low maternal IQ
  -Multiple breaks in caregivers; lack of consistent caregiver in early life
  -Maternal rejection
  -Maternal depression
  -Parental substance abuse
  -Child abuse
  -Child neglect
  -Parental discord
  -Ineffective discipline

Larger Environmental Factors
  -Living below community economic norm
  -Modeling of violent solutions to problems by key models
  -Modeling of weapon use in community; access to weapons
  -Unavailability of involved adult who teaches values, and values child
  -Modeling of alcohol and drug use to deal with problems
  -Violence in entertainment; television, video games, movies, music and toys

This is the most comprehensive list of factors associated with violence that I have seen.   Another appendix lists educational approaches at numerous levels to address these factors.  

• Count your blessings
• Proclaim your rarity
• Go another mile
• Use wisely your power of choice
• And one more, to fulfill the other four. Do all things with love…love for yourself, love for all others, and love for G.O.D. (“Grand Organizational Design/Designer”). .

You Are the Greatest Miracle in The World.  [This link provides a summary of what I highlighted during my read of this excellent book -- I recommend it on my Top-ten List of Peace resources.  My purpose in providing them is to interest you, the reader, and hope that you will obtain and read the complete work.  To properly understand the highlights, you need to read the book to put them in the proper context.]  

THE GRIP OF DEATH* "A study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery, and Destructive Economics" by Jon Carpenter Publishing, Charlbury Oxfordshire, 1998 ISBN: 1897766408.  * Mort-gage(O.F.) "A pledge unto death" Oxford Dictionary.  The two key points of the book are : 1) fractional reserve banking debt-money (that must pay back interest) drives the world's corporate growth model indefinitely, and 2) the creation of this money is in the hands of private profit-seekers, instead of the government, which is wrong.
This lucid and original account of where our money comes from explains why most people and businesses are so heavily in debt. Exploding more myths than any other book this century, it's all about subjects very close to home: mortgages, building societies and banks, food and farming, transport, worldwide poverty, and what's on the supermarket shelf.  It explains:
- why virtually all the money in the world economy has been created as a debt;
- why only 3% of UK money exists as 'legal tender';
- and why in a world reliant upon money created as debt, we are kept perpetually short of money.
- how and why mortgages are responsible for almost two-thirds of the total money stock in the UK, and 80% in the US.
- why business and corporate debt is at its highest level ever.
- why debts mean that a small farm can be productively very efficient, but financially not 'viable'.
- why national debts can never be paid off  without monetary reform.
- how debt fuels the 'need to grow', revolutionising national and global transport strategies, destroying local markets and producers and increasing waste, pollution and resource consumption.
- how 'Third World debt' is a mechanism used by the developed nations to inject ever-increasing amounts of money into their own economies, and
- why debtor nations can never repay the debts.
- why politicians who rely on the banks for money can't fund public services.
- why 'debt-money' is undemocratic and a threat to human rights.
The author proposes a new mechanism for the supply of money, creating a supportive financial environment and a decreasing reliance on debt.  THE GRIP OF DEATH offers unique insights into some of the world's most pressing problems:
- the financial crisis in south-east Asia is due, not to poor economic management, but to the reliance of the world's economies on banking, which is an inherently unstable mechanism.
- most people in developed countries are up to their necks in debt, chiefly due to the system of buying homes with mortgages.  But this system is itself entirely illegitimate: governments use the mortgage system as a privatised means of creating money, highly profitable for the banks and lending corporations but crippling for the borrower.
- the refusal to fund adequate public services  governments say "We haven't got the money"  is down to a refusal by governments to create and supply money themselves according to need. Instead, they entrust the supply of money to banks, who only create money as a debt where interest can be charged on it. Virtually all money is thus created as a debt, purely as a profit-making exercise. But this is a choice made by government.  
- All Third World debt should be repudiated. As this book shows, most such debts were and are created by the institutions of the developed countries as a mechanism for injecting more money into their own economies. They were never intended to finance the underdeveloped world or relieve poverty, and they don't.
- the UK government is cutting expenditure in order to reduce the national debt. Yet national debts can never be repaid. In any case the UK debt and annual deficit is far lower than in many economically successful European countries. So why will the government not stop this charade and pay better welfare and health benefits and fund education properly?
All in all, a crippling attack on the popular assumptions surrounding economics, money and borrowing, and the relationship between the rich Northern world and the poor South.  Michael Rowbotham is a teacher and writer.  15  pbk   352pp   1 897766 40 8.  TO ORDER, post your cheque for 15.00 sterling to Jon Carpenter Publishing, 2 The Spendlove Centre, Charlbury OX7 3PQ, England; or phone or fax your credit card details to +44 (0)1689 870437.  Or e-mail joncarpenterpublishing@compuserve.com

Human Rights Advocacy Kit - In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Free Speech TV and several partner organizations have created a Human Rights Advocacy Kit, which is available both online and in print.  The online version is at: http://www.freespeech.org/js/intro.html.  The Advocacy Kit supplements Just Solutions, a human rights TV series which is being broadcast on public and local cable stations.  The ITrain Collective, a multi-cultural, global group of Internet trainers, have created a set of Internet training materials, available on the Web and via email.  Although the materials were prepared for use in developing countries, they may be useful for instructors and students anywhere who are either new to the Internet or have intermediate-level skills.  The training makes use of interactive learning, allows for flexible course planning, and can be customized on the basis of gender, culture, individual needs, or interests.  The materials can be used by instructors, or by students learning on their own.  Information is available on the web at: http://unganisha.idrc.ca/itrain, or by email at: itrain@unganisha.idrc.ca.