Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, and Conflict

Reviews of the first edition “An indispensable Encyclopedia” Journal of Peace Psychology, 6:2, 2000, pp. 177-179 “This outstanding three-volume set seeks to answer basic questions about modern warfare, conflict, violence, and peace, but also covers current topics such as police brutality, aggression in sports, television violence, and animal aggression. The greatest value of this multivolume work is its interdisciplinary coverage. The set is broken down into 15 subject areas covering approximately 200 different issues. Each article is about 9,000 words, including a definition of the subject, illustrations, glossaries, and bibliographies. It is an excellent source written by scholars from around the world.” “Outstanding reference sources 2000,” American Libraries, May 2000 “…the Encyclopedia is a thoroughly impressive work, well written, well organized and well presented. As a starting point for newcomers to the field, as a useful aid to those already involved but seeking to broaden their range of knowledge, as a useful guide to any non-scholars seeking information about what peace and conflict studies has currently to say about many important topics, it is thoroughly admirable. At times, reviewers can only revert to cliches to summarize a work’s contribution but, in this case, it is true that this is a work that no library of any program on peace studies, conflict research or dispute resolution can afford to be without.” Christopher Mitchell, Institute for Conflict Analysis & Resolution, George Mason University, in “Peace and Conflict” “This mammoth set is a fascinating undertaking. It has well-written and well-researched articles, excellent cross-references, and a good index. The cast of contributors is truly impressive…the articles range widely (e.g., the impact of television on children, alliance behavior, the concept of evil, violence toward homosexuals) and because of the contributors’ varied backgrounds, are variously based in anthropology, sociology, ethics, politics, and psychology, to mention a few. [It is] recommended highly for all academic libraries.” Choice “The Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict is an ambitious work, superbly executed… It is clear that much thought has gone not only into the content, but also into the organization of the work. Comprehensiveness, diversity of viewpoint, scholarly rigor, clarity of presentation, and ease of access are the hallmarks of this encyclopedia. For this reason, it is of great value not only to students of the field, but also to practitioners and the generally curious.” College and Research Libraries Reviews of the second edition “On the required reading list for these challenging economic times [is] Academic Press’s magisterial but expensive Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace & Conflict, providing background to ethnic clashes still raging worldwide […] Much has happened since the first edition of this work was released in 1999. The events of 9⁄11 and cascading levels of violence worldwide have drawn new research on the topic, which, notes editor Kurtz, most societies are still ambivalent about. This meticulous resource covers everything from mediation and negotiation techniques to trade wars to serial and mass murderers via 190 multidisciplinary articles, 1000 cross-references, and more than 2000 bibliography entries Library Journal. Winner, “Best reference 2008”

Lester R. Kurtz is professor of public sociology at George Mason University where he teaches courses on violence and nonviolence, peace and conflict, social movements, comparative sociology of religion, and global social thought. Kurtz holds a Master’s in Religion from Yale University and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago and was previously director of Religious Studies at the University of Texas-Austin. He has lectured in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America and taught as a visiting professor at the European Peace University, the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Delhi University in India, and Tunghai University in Taiwan.Dr. Kurtz is the past chair of the Peace and Justice Studies Association as well as the Peace, War, and Social Conflict Section of the American Sociological Association, which awarded him its Robin Williams Distinguished Career Award in 2005. In 2014 he was given the Lester F. Ward Distinguished Contribution to Applied and Clinical Sociology Award by the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology. He is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute of Nanjing Massacre History and International Peace in Nanjing, Republic of China.