A noted theologian and bestselling author shows how nonviolent action has been practiced in history and in current social-political situations to promote peace and oppose injustice.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-185) and index.

Proving it works: from the early beginnings to stunning success -- Early Developments -- Gandhi: defeating the British Empire -- Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhian nonviolence: the battle against American racism -- Nonviolent intervention in guerrilla warfare -- Wheelchairs versus tanks -- Defeating the Soviet Empire -- Solidarity: a trade union and the Pope versus communist dictators -- The revolution of the candles: the nonviolent overthrow of East German communists -- Recent victories of a growing movement -- "Gather the women to pray for peace": Liberian Women Overthrow a Dictator -- Nonviolence in the Arab Spring -- Intervening, accompanying, and reporting: the growth of peacemaker teams -- The time to act -- Truly testing the possibilities of nonviolent action for the first time in Christian history -- The moral equivalent of war.