Books

And There Was Light: Autobiography of Jacques Lusseyran, Blind Hero of the French Resistance, by Jacques Lusseyran and Elizabeth R. Cameron. Jacques Lusseyran was blinded in an accident at the age of 8, yet was a major force in the French Resistance during World War II. This book may change the way your see the world – and your own power to contribute to the world – forever.

Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr, by Martin Luther King, Jr and C. Carson
The life and times of Martin Luther King, Jr., one of America’s greatest heroes of peace.

Brave Hearts, Rebel Spirits: The Spiritual Activists Handbook, by Alex Fisher, Brooke Shelby Biggs & Anita Roddick. Buddhists and Catholics, Hindus and Muslims, Jews and Quakers – stories of modern-day prophets of positive change which will inspire you and provide the resources you need to put your own beliefs to work in the world

The Chosen, by Chaim Potok. The story of a friendship between two very different Jewish boys in 1940’s New York City. Despite their differences the young men form a deep friendship. Together they negotiate adolescence, family conflicts, and the crises of faith that happen when Holocaust stories begin to emerge in the U.S. The intellectual and spiritual clashes provide the backdrop for this exploration of fathers, sons, faith, loyalty, and the power of love.

The Circuit & Breaking Through, by Francisco Jimenez. The Circuit is an honest and powerful account of a Mexican family's journey to the fields of California -- from strawberry fields to cotton fields, from tent cities to one-room shacks. Seen through the eyes of a boy who longs for an education and the right to call one place home, this is a story of survival, faith, and hope. Breaking Through continues the story in the years that follow, as Francisco and his family face crushing poverty, long hours of labor, and blatant prejudice, throughout sustaining their hope, good heartedness, and tenacity.

The Dalai Lama's Book of Wisdom, by the Dalai Lama. In this pocketsize text, the Dalai Lama provides offers some simple advice on compassion and forgiveness.

The Elephant Man, by Christine Sparks. Dramatizes the life of John Merrick, who was so hideously deformed that he was exhibited as a freak in a sideshow until befriended by the London surgeon, Dr. Frederick Treves. Young Reader Review: “It helps teach people that it is what is on the inside that counts, and not how they look. It teaches people to look into the heart of a person.”

The Essential Gandhi, by Mahatma Gandhi, edited by Louis Fischer. This selection from Gandhi’s writings introduces us to his thoughts on politics, spirituality, poverty, suffering, love, non-violence, civil disobedience, and his own life. Perhaps the clearest, most thorough portrait of one of the greatest spiritual leaders the world has known.

Ethics for the New Millennium, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The exiled leader of the Tibetan people shows how the basic concerns of all people – to be happy, to be free of suffering, forging meaningful relationships – can act as the foundation for a universal ethics. The Nobel Peace laureate invites us to recognize certain basic facts of existence, such as the interdependence of all things, and from these to recalibrate our hearts and minds, to approach all of our actions in their light.

Forgive For Good, by Dr. Fred Luskin. Forgiving doesn't mean forgetting, or condoning bad behavior. What it does mean is that you “take your hurt less personally, take responsibility for how you feel, and become a hero instead of a victim in the story you tell.” Luskin, a practicing psychologist and cofounder of the Stanford University Forgiveness Project, shows why forgiveness is important for mental and physical health and suggests practical steps for healing.

The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz. Shamanistic teacher and healer Don Miguel Ruiz exposes self-limiting beliefs and presents a simple yet effective code of personal conduct learned from his Toltec ancestors.

Free the Children: A Young Man Fights Against Child Labor, by Craig Kielburger and Kevin Major. Craig Kielburger and his organization, Free the Children – which he founded at the age of twelve – have brought unprecedented attention to the worldwide abuse of children's rights. Free the Children is a passionate, astounding story and a testament to the power that children and young adults have to change the world.

Hearts and Hands – Making Peace in a Violent Time, by Luis J. Rodriguez. Rodriguez, whose youth included drugs, jail, and gang warfare, writes of how he turned his life around, dedicating himself to working with teens at risk. Rodriguez focuses on the specific problems of young males “trying to negotiate their lives” in the face of enormous problems. Drawing inspiration from Joseph Campbell, Lao-tzu, and Buddhist thinkers, Rodriguez's grassroots perspective gives his writing both weight and an optimism rarely encountered in the literature of life on the streets.

The Illuminated Rumi, by Jallal Al-Din Rumi. Rumi's passionate, playful poems of the mid-thirteenth century find and celebrate sacred life in everyday existence. They speak across all traditions, to all peoples, and today his relevance and popularity continue to grow. In The Illuminated Rumi, Coleman Barks presents many new translations, and artist, Michael Green works the ancient art of illumination into a new, visually stunning form.

Nonviolent Soldier of Islam, by Eknath Easwaran. The amazing story of Badshah Khan, nonviolent Muslim freedom fighter who raised the world's first nonviolent army from the fierce Pathans of North India during India's struggle for independence from Britain. Meet a man who is truly of the world’s unsung peace heroes.

Peacemakers: Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, by Ann T. Keene. Chronicles the stories of the winners of the Nobel Peace prize in 79 essays, including anecdotes about and quotations from the recipients, and introduces readers to major events in world history.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, by Eleanor Coerr. Based on a true story, a young Hiroshima-born girl faces the battle of her life when she is told that she has the “atom bomb disease,” leukemia, thus she turns to her native beliefs by making a thousand paper cranes so that the gods will grant her one wish to be well again.

Take Action!: A Guide to Active Citizenship, by Marc Kielburger and Craig Kielburger. Inspired by the vision, spirit, and activities of thousands of kids working to improve the lives of others, Take Action! shows how you, too, can change the world. Authors Marc Kielburger and Craig Kielburger are the founders of Leaders Today, an organization dedicated to helping young people realize their fullest potential and become socially involved.

The Seed and the Sower, by Laurens van der Post. Filmed as the acclaimed Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, this book is van der Post’s memoir of his life in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Java in 1942. Out of the terrible violence and hardship strange bonds of love and friendship are forged between the prisoners and their jailers.

Flix

The First Year, documentary. Chronicles the emotional turmoil of a Los Angeles schoolteacher educating inner-city youth. This fascinating documentary makes one thing perfectly clear: the teachers helping these disadvantaged children are real heroes.

A Force More Powerful, documentary. A three-hour series that tells one of the most important stories for our time – how nonviolent power overcame oppression and authoritarian rule all over the world in the 20th Century.

Gandhi, PG. When he stood up to address the judge for the first time as a young lawyer in a minor traffic case, he was so overcome with shyness that he couldn’t speak. A few years later he stood up to the British in India, invented (or discovered?) nonviolent political action, and changed our world forever.

Kundun, PG-13. This beautiful film, by Martin Scorsese, tells the story of the early life of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. It brings to life his childhood in a remote and isolated Tibet, his unique position as leader of the Tibetan people, his dawning awareness of the wider world, the invasion and occupation of Tibet by China, his meetings with Chairman Mao, and finally his epic escape to India.

Life is Beautiful, PG-13. In this poignant tragicomedy, a Jewish-Italian waiter is sent to a Nazi concentration camp during World War II with his wife and their young son. Refusing to give up hope, He tries to protect his son's innocence by pretending that their imprisonment is an elaborate game.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Historical Perspective, documentary. An hour-long documentary about the civil rights leader's groundbreaking accomplishments, covering his war on poverty and his opposition to the Vietnam War.

Pay It Forward, PG – 13. A young student responds to a social studies assignment with a plan to unselfishly help three strangers ... who will then help three more, and so on, in an ever-widening circle.

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