An Energy Field More Intense Than War

Book excerpt: American history abounds with a rich tradition of literature dealing with nonviolence. In a work that spans from the seventeenth century to the present, Michael True brings to light the strong but long-neglected strain in American culture: nonviolence as an active response to conflicts and divisiveness. In identifying writings about action for social change, he distinguishes literary works from peace advocacy and nonviolence and relates them to broad currents of United States history. The Quakers of the 1680s and abolitionists of the 1850s, the sanctuary Movement and Plowshares of the 1980s, novelists (from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Norman Mailer) and poets (from Walt Whitman to Denise Levertov) all have written powerful works on nonviolent action. Through this literature, the author explores the beauty of an important theme in American literature. At a time when people face widespread injustice, True reminds us that nonviolence holds a significant place in our country's history.