`Even a reviewer who has spent a lifetime in peace research finds much insight, inspiration and provocation in [this book]. It is a book to start the road with - and to return to by the end of the road′ - Democratization `Galtung′s book is one of the best guides for getting to know the world we live in. It contains astonishing insights, not only about war and peace, but about one′s own cultural roots and ideological predispositions. It is a courageous and highly ethical work, full of unpalatable truths but lit up by sparks of truth′ - Media Development `This is an important volume by one of the most important scholars of modern peace studies.... It is both an overview and an elaboration of his ideas regarding the conceptual and material implications of peace.... This is not an easy book to read in the sense that the prose is dense and the arguments are spread over the main text and within the detailed footnotes. However, it is worth reading carefully precisely because it is concerned with locating peace studies within a broader social and intellectual context than other parts of the discipline of international relations or political science. Galtung concludes his latest contribution with a plea for perseverance: peace is something that has to be worked at and, moreover, peace workers have to expect resistance from those inculcated within reactionary state structures′ - International Affairs