Three new books have just been published:
The Power of Silence, by Graham Turner, My Friend, Frank Buchman, by Ray Foote Purdy, and The Promise of Diversity, by John Williams and John Bond.
The Power of Silence, by Graham Turner
From the inside cover:
In the modern world, we are assaulted on all sides by noise; but silence can change your life and this book explains why and how.
Silence is a mysterious and unfathomable realm, perhaps the most underused of all resources, and one our modern culture has all but obliterated by turning up the volume control. Graham Turner explores the power that can be found in silence through interviewing monastics, religious leaders, composers, actors, psychotherapists, prisoners and peace workers about their experiences of practising silence.
Ranging from Christian contemplation in the Egyptian desert to Vipassana meditation in India, from the shared silence of Quaker meetings in Oxford to the profound stillness of the Alps, this is a powerful book about a great gap in modern human awareness.
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ISBN 978-1-4411-8223-4
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My Friend, Frank Buchman, by Ray Foote Purdy
From the back cover:
We live in a time when the old securities of life seem to be crumbling, when giant forces of nationalism, economic upheaval, technology and communication, religion and even nature seem bent on pushing us in new directions and forging new loyalties. But we are not historically unique in this.
Ray Purdy Snr’s story is the story of an American who, as a young man in the early 1920’s, decided to devote his life to the concept, initiated by Dr Frank Buchman, that the only way to resolve conflict between races, classes and nations, and build a new society, is by changing the human nature of individuals, one by one, starting with yourself. He found that this hate-disarming concept found response in people of all kinds in every country, and as the force of committed people grew, so did the global impact.
What followed is a gripping story, which has applications for today. Though he wrote this book toward the end of his life, at the height of the Cold War, he seems to speak to anyone in any age who truly cares about the future of the world we live in.
This is not a book of theory; it is a book of action – indeed a book of battle. As you will see – a challenge usually provokes a reaction!
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ISBN 978-1-85239-046-4
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The Promise of Diversity, by John Williams and John Bond
From the back cover:
Jerzy Zubrzycki AO CBE (1920-2009) was born in Poland and, during the Second World War, served with distinction in the Polish Army, the Polish underground and with Britain’s Special Operations Executive. He led the operation, which brought a captured V2 rocket from Poland to Britain. He was dramatically reunited with his teenage love, Aleksandra, who had been deported to Kazakhstan.
After the war he studied sociology at the London School of Economics, then took up a position at the Australian National University. In 1970 he became the University’s Professor of Sociology. Throughout his career he worked with many others to develop policies appropriate to Australia’s increasing ethnic diversity – policies which have been implemented by governments on both sides of politics.
'Jerzy Zubrzycki was widely described as the "father of Australian multiculturalism". He contributed enormously to the social development of this country.' From the foreword by Malcolm Fraser, Australian Prime Minister, 1975-83.
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ISBN 978-0-646-59340-1
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Copies available from Initiatives of Change, 24 Greencoat Place, London SW1P 1RD.
To order by email or for enquiries please click here.
English