Resources for Radicals

Nonviolent Struggle and Social Defence. 
Edited by Shelley Anderson and Janet Larmore
War Resisters International, London 1991. 
This book has two main parts: (1) talks on people power and alternatives to military-based national security; (2) Brian Martin's 'Social Defense: Arguments and Actions.' This book helps to provide activists with effective non-violent tactics and strategies.  Martin's section is designed to be used as a manual for trainers in nonviolent.

The Trial of the Catonsville Nine. 
By Daniel Berrigan
Bantam Books, Toronto 1970. 
This book provides a glimpse into both the reasons why people take the risks involved in radical nonviolent and why the state is frightened by non-violent dissent.

Fighting the Lamb's War.
By Philip Berrigan & Fred A. Wilcox
Common Courage Press, Monroe 1996. 
This autobiography is a challenging and inspiring work that also serves as a history of the work and times of its subject.  Philip Berrigan's life is one of ongoing dedication and radical compassion.

The Strategy of Nonviolent Defense:
A Gandhian Approach.
By Robert J. Burrowes
State Univ. of NY Press, Albany 1996.
This is a good text looking primarily at the theory of non-violent defense on a national scale, with interesting analysis of large-scale, nonviolent defensive and offensive efforts in Palestine, Burma and Poland.

The Berrigans. 
Edited by William Van Etten Casey and Philip Nobile
Avon Books, NY 1971. 
This collection of essays examines the Berrigan brothers' work in the 1960s.  Noam Chomsky's 'On the Limits of Civil Disobedience' is the most valuable chapter for nonviolent activists.

From Yale to Jail. 
By David Dellinger
Pantheon Books, NY 1993.
This is the autobiography of an anti-war activist who has lived out his beliefs through active nonviolent from WWII to the current day.  His appendix was a bit easier to grasp than the main book, but his book as a whole is inspiring.

Allow the Water. 
By Len Desroches
Editions Dunamis, Toronto 1996.
This is more a series of conversations than a series of interwoven chapters.  It is an intimate discussion of nonviolence.

The Non-violent Coming of God. 
By James Douglass
W. Orbis Books, Maryknoll, 1991. 
This book explores a range of non-violent efforts in places as diverse as Palestine and Birmingham.  The primary purpose is to help define a theology of nonviolence in apocalyptic times.

By Little and Little: The Selected Writings of Dorothy Day.
Edited by Robert Ellsberg
Alfred A. Knoft, New York, 1983. 
Dorothy Day was a founder of the Catholic Worker movement.  Her perspectives on The Industrial Workers of the World and The United Farm Workers are insightful as are her descriptions of being in jail, being a single mother, living in voluntary poverty and working for peace in wartime.

Gandhi: The Truth Can Fight. 
By Ann Lee Finkel
Ti-Jean Press, Powell River, 1997. 
This biography of Gandhi, written for high school students, provides an intimate glimpse into the actions and ideals of one of the best-known theorists and practitioners of nonviolent. 

Divine Disobedience.
By Francine du Plessix Gray
Vintage Books, New York 1971. 
The early work of Daniel and Philip Berrigan, as well as other radical directions in Catholic activism, is presented in a powerful and fresh way.

The Essays of A.J. Muste. 
Edited by Nat Hentoff
Bobbs-Merril Co., New York 1967. 
This collection of essays, from 1905 to 1966, is an introduction to a major U.S. writer and activist and an overview of the anti-war and pacifist movement in the U.S. from prior to WWII to the Vietnam War. 

Path of Resistance. 
By Per Herngren (Trans. M. Rainey)
New Society Publishers, Philadelphia 1993. 
This oral history collection examines conscientious objection to the Vietnam War in the U.S. It examines individual motivations and the consequences of their actions.

Refusing to Bear Arms: Part 1: Europe. 
By Bart Horeman, Marc Stolwijk and Anto Luccioni
War Resisters International 1997. 
This survey of conscription and conscientious objection to military service looks at the laws, history and alternatives around forced participation in the military.

The Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi.
Edited by Raghavan Iyer
Oxford University Press, Toronto 1990. 
In the 20th century, non-violent revolution was shown to be possible through the work of Gandhi.  This is a good introduction to his concepts, strategies and vision.

Playing with Fire. 
By Fiona Macbeth and Nic Fine
New Society, Gabriola Island 1995. 
This series of group exercises and advice to trainers in nonviolent and conflict resolution can be adapted for introductory workshops.

Unarmed Forces. 
Edited by Graeme MacQueen
Science for Peace, Toronto 1992. 
This book looks at the use of nonviolent in Central America and the Middle East, setting it in the context of state and socially sanctioned violence and social injustices.

Social Defence: Social Change
By Brian Martin
Freedom Press, London 1993. 
Social defence is "non-violent community resistance to aggression as an alternative to military defence."  Martin provides practical suggestions for resistance, examines where it has worked, where it hasn't and links social defense with broader movements for social change.

The Nonviolent Alternative. 
By Thomas Merton
McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Toronto 1980. 
From historical essays ('Danish Non-Violent Resistance to Hitler'), to theological statements ('Faith and Violence'), to 'The Machine Gun in the Fallout Shelter,' this is a phenomenal collection of different ways to look at the power and necessity of nonviolence.

The New Winter Soldiers. 
By Richard Moser
Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick 1996. 
This powerful book examines anti-militarism within the U.S. army during the
Vietnam War.  From noncooperation to active sabotage, the range of
participants and the diversity of actions provide a clear picture of a
force for peace within a very surprising setting.

Witness Against War. 
By Thomas P. Socknat
Univ. of Toronto Press, Toronto 1987. 
This is is one of the best histories of pacifism in Canada.  Both legal
opposition to war and radical forms of resistance are examined (1900 to
1945). 

Holy Warriors: The Abolitionists and American Slavery.
By James Stewart
Hill and Wang, New York, 1996. 
This is a very good overview of the primarily faith-based opposition to
slavery in the U.S. and the diversity of many current movements for justice
and the environment.

Over Our Dead Bodies: Women Against the Bomb.
Edited by Dorothy Thompson
Virago Press, London 1983. 
This is a collection of writings by women who actively opposed the spread
and development of nuclear weapons, taking a variety of personal risks in
the process. 

Civil Disobedience and Other Essays.
By Henry David Thoreau
Dover, Mineola 1993. 
This collection of essays includes some of the most influential writings on
civil disobedience and resistance of the mid-1900s.  Perhaps the most
challenging is his 'A Plea for Captain John Brown,' although I found his
'Walking' the most enjoyable.

The Strength Not to Fight. 
Edited by James W. Tollefson
Little, Brown & Co., Toronto 1993. 
This oral history collection examines conscientious objection to the
Vietnam War in the U.S.  It examines individual motivations and their
consequences.

A Confession and Other Religious Writings.
By Leo Tolstoy
(Translated by Jane Kentish.)
Penguin Books, Markham 1987. 
This strong collection of writings from a Christian pacifist anarchist is a
very good source of ideas on why the rejection of obedience to the state is
essential to ensuring the dignity of all people.  'The Law of Love and the
Law of Violence' is one of the most important Christian essays on pacifism.

Testament of Hope: Essential Writings & Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Edited by James M. Washington
Harper Collins, San Francisco 1986. 
This is one of the best collections of writings by King. It contains
sermons, articles and speeches from his earliest activist days to just
before his assassination.

Justice Without Violence.
Edited by Paul Wehr, Heidi & Guy Burgess
Lynne Reinner, Boulder 1994. 
It is worth working through the dense text in this academic exploration of
nonviolent strategies in South Africa, China, Nicaragua and Eastern Europe.

Disobedience & Democracy. 
By Howard Zinn
Vintage Books, New York 1968.
This is a good look at the history and ethics of civil disobedience in a
liberal democracy.

Source: From Resources for Radicals, 1999, an annotated bibliography by Brian Burch. Published by Toronto Action for Social Change (see page 27). 

For more information, contact: Resources for Radicals, 20 Spruce St., Toronto, ON  M5A 2H7. ($11 in Canada, $14 U.S., $15 overseas.)