"Can People Stop Being Violent? is a thought-provoking book by Kevin Cunningham. Many of his books are known for analyzing impossible questions. In this book, he talks about several historical occurrences of violence as well as modern forms of violence. He discusses whether or not violence may be due to learned behavior or because of evolutionary instincts. Moreover, the book tries to find reasons why humans are entertained by violence in books, video games, movies, and TV shows. In contrast, non-violence and pacifism are also portrayed. Cunningham also provides a few interactive activities that can help readers draw their own conclusions on the subject of violence and non-violence.
I was very impressed by this book’s professional editing and layout. There were no errors in the entire book so I think it was professionally edited. The book was printed in large colored fonts and contained big photos, illustrative designs, interesting quotes, and short notes. This made the book easy on the eyes and encouraged me to read it to the end.
The thing that I liked most about this book is that it contained informative and historical information. I learned a lot about significant peacemakers in history like Mahatma Gandhi and Daryl Davis. I also got important insights into some of history’s most violent massacres like the Khmer Rouge Regime in Cambodia and the Holocaust in Germany.
Although this book contained many historical references, Cunningham included a few relatable elements such as a quote from J.K. Rowling, the author of the famous Harry Potter series. There was even a short summary which described part of the Star Trek TV series. Readers will surely enjoy these relatable extracts. I appreciated these aspects of the book because it helped me to widen my perspective and compare the past with modern media on the subject of violence.
Moreover, I really liked this book because it presented scenarios that prompted the reader to think carefully before making a decision that could result in violence. Some were challenging such as the Trolley Problem which was invented by a philosopher in 1967. This example proved that not resorting to violence is more difficult than one may think, especially when violence to one person can result in more lives being saved. A lovely drawing activity designed to map a path to forgiveness was also included. I think that these were great tools to teach children and adults about peace and forgiveness.
There was nothing in this book that I didn’t like. I think it was engaging, educational, and thought-provoking. Furthermore, the layout was excellent. In my opinion, it deserves 4 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to children aged ten and over as well as teenagers and adults. People who like thought-stimulating books will also enjoy reading this one. Those who don’t like reading about social issues, history or non-fiction books may not like this one."
--Kristy Khem, OnlineBookClub.org, May 1, 2019
