Why Do We Fight?: Conflict, War and Peace

Brilliant resource explaining conflict, but ending with a message of hope and giving agency to the young reader. Relevant and reflective of today's challenges, including a section n propaganda. Perfect for ages 8-15 although I suspect that many adults would also learn something new.

An interesting topic tackled well. Accessible prose in a readable and flowing style. Easy to read, if not "un-putdownable"

A well written, thought provoking book excellent for use in schools. Now more than ever it seems we need students to learn that there is another way to handle disputes that does not involve armed conflict.I was invited to post a review by the publisher.

This book is targeted for readers aged 12 and up, but children of 10 and above who are engaged by their parents and carers with world events in a meaningful and positive way will be able to gain a lot from this book.Children - and adults with learning difficulties - can feel very distressed by news reports of conflict and at some stage many will articulate the question asked in the title of this book 'Why Do We Fight'?Throughout the book analogies are drawn that children can identify with, the conflicts and dramas of their everyday lives have parallels drawn with them on the world stage.The author walks a fine line between presenting potentially frightening information in a factual way without disturbing children and 'dumbing down' very well.Photographs are not used, but simple black, white and yellow drawings are used instead, along with graphs and Venn diagrams, to enable children to process information effectively. There are generalisations rather than specific examples, which will be helpful for the minority of children who may have personal experience of conflicts -triggers are generally avoided. The role of peace-keepers is thoroughly investigated and the value of mediation and arbitration is explained in an accessible way.Whilst this is written for classroom use, it can be used at home and will be of particular value to home schoolers, who will have potentially have the time to take the topics further with the use of internet resources.

This is a really good book with some sound advice for children/youngsters to understand conflicts, how they start, what can be done to solve them, why some conflicts are more difficult to resolve than others and also an encouragement to understand that it is rarely a simple “us vs them” situation, but that we have to understand the historical/cultural/religious etc. context and that it is a question of learning to sieve through what information is factual and what is merely an opinion – whether it is information given in the media or by acquaintances and so on.It is a slim volume and obviously doesn’t have all the answers, but I think it provides a good starting point for children to start thinking about these issues and for them to be aware how important it is to ask questions, do research and not simply follow.There are not many real life examples in the book. Which is likely good – as they mention in the afterword, it’s important both to avoid linking the words to specific events and as it’s war and conflict, emotions are often still running high, so it’s best to understand and use it in general terms. Words such as mediation, arbitration, sanctions etc. have been explained in a very straight forward way.I think it is a useful tool for discussions in the classrooms as well as at home. Here’s to hoping future generations become better at “reading” propaganda and manipulation and make more informed decisions going forward!