This is a magnificent achievement

Erudite and eloquent

Kurlansky writes history with his heart firmly on his sleeve, unashamedly hopeful that people are becoming more tired of war, quicker to condemn it

Short and punchy and has a good heart... fascinating, vibrant and thought-provoking

This book is crammed with historical fact... thought provoking

Delightful

Succinct yet wide-ranging...Kurlansky is adamant that his book is about hope, that over and over again non-violence has had its own small successes, from Gandhi to Martin Luther King

The ideal Christmas present for world leaders and jihad warriors everywhere

Kurlansky tells an intriguing story - with some nuggets of fascinating trivia

An entertaining, interesting and sometimes inspiring gallop through parts of the history of non-violent conflict

Haslam is an intriguing man...[and] can write wonderfully well

A baroque soufflé of names, faces, bitchy asides and put-downs, sprinkled with funny anecdotes.

Though full of as much gossip as you might expect from the inveterate socialite, this memoir is also interestingly clever

The interior designer, journalist and socialite Nicky Haslam has met almost everyone who's anyone

It is...boisterously good company and proof that if Haslam knows one thing, it's that you can only get away with a life like his if you are never, ever boring.

a terrifically entertaining read

extremely diverting, essentially kind-hearted and well written