This book is an absolute must-have resource for anyone interested in the birth and history of conflict resolution as a field of study, as well as a lexicon of fundamental documents that are currently shaping thinking and practice in the peacebuilding field. It is a unique and inspiring testimony to many of the challenges the field has faced, as well as demonstrating the strategic import of todays scholars and practitioners about how better to address the resolution of conflicts around the world today. Mari Fitzduff, Brandeis University This book is indispensable for all teachers, researchers and practitioners in the field of conflict resolution and peace-building. It brings together seminal, defining texts so that readers can discern the genealogy of our interdisciplinary academic discipline. But it also directs our attention to a whole series of tried and tested practical measures for dealing with deep division and violence. By combining the readings into theory ,praxis , peace-building and reconciliation this collection reminds us that this field is not only deeply analytical but also normative in intent. It does not succumb to the paralysing consequences of realist pessimism nor fall into any false idealist position. It analyses violence critically and provides hard and tested solutions to deep rooted and intractable problems. I will be ordering it for myself and my library. It will find its way as a key text in our field. Kevin Clements, National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies,University of Otago, New Zealand Once again, Woodhouse et al. have produced an incredible resource for the conflict resolution field. I have been using various portions of Contemporary Conflict Resolution in my graduate classes for years, and this new book complements it beautifully. It brings together in one volume an array of primary theories in the field with current writing that highlights both questions and challenges. My students are always asking ?is there a basic set of readings in conflict resolution?? and I?ll now be able to point them in the direction of this great new book! Eileen F. Babbitt, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University