The Words of Peace: Selections from the Speeches of the Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize

by irwin-abrams-jimmy-carter

The voice of 52 Peace Prize laureates since 1901, including Schweitzer, the Dalai Lama, and Mother Teresa, edited from their acceptance speeches and lectures and by the world's foremost historian of the Nobel Prize. 15 photos, chronology.

Genres: Nonfiction

139 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, name me a politician with the integrity of Jimmy Carter. I dare you. (well, I am hoping that Barack Obama is his equal)

[Jeremy Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive speeches are always better than snippets and excerpts, namely for the context they provide, but to read a book that snuggly places the known and unknown Nobel Peace Prize recipients next to each other in Words of Peace is like taking a seat in the church of human goodwill. This is a collection that ought to inspire serious and thoughtful conversations about the true nature of humanity, whether we are inherently bad at our core, thus trying to be better, more civilized, or whether we are inherently good at our core, affected and nurtured by evil outside ourselves. I tend to believe the former, that humankind is born selfish, that civility is learned, that we are only as good as we are taught to be and find within ourselves the will to be.

[Frodo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would that such an award as the Nobel Peace Prize, first given in 1909, were no longer necessary to remind us of the need for peacemaking. Speeches from award recipients remain poignant in this world.