I wrote a review of a book called Peace: A World History, by Antony Adolf, for The Mantle. Check it out here. While I had some problems with the book, as you’ll read in the review, I still think it’s worth a read. Here’s the first paragraph of my take:
As implied by the title of Antony Adolf’s book, Peace: A World History is an ambitious undertaking. Adolf tackles the entire history of peace, spanning the entire globe, running from prehistoric times to the present. In the introduction, Adolf promises to deliver a “comprehensive re-interpretation” of facts “outside the shadows in which they have been previously cast.” The book does not, however, truly live up to this promise. At a mere 248 pages, Peace provides only a cursory examination of the history of peace, offering little original analysis in the process. But the book is valuable nonetheless; it is well researched and rife with factoids and footnotes that could serve as raw materials for a future work of deeper analytical significance.
