A study of the decades leading up to World War II profiles the world leaders, politicians, business people, and others whose personal politics and ideologies provided an inevitable barrier to the peace process and whose actions led to the outbreak of war.

Bertha von Suttner was a pioneer in the peace movement at the end of the 19th century, while Alfred Nobel earned his fortune on the invention of dynamite. This book tells the gripping story of their relationship and how she came to influence him in his decision to establish the Nobel Peace Prize, "the most prestigious prize in the world," according to the Oxford Dictionary of Contemporary History. Their correspondence of more than ninety letters, written with intensity and elegance, is the main source of this work. Young Bertha Kinsky, as her maiden name is, came from Austria to work as a secretary for Alfred Nobel in Paris in 1875. This was the beginning of a friendship that would last for more than twenty years, until Nobel's death in 1896. In "The Woman behind the Nobel Peace Prize," we follow the ups and downs of their professional and private lives, and see how their stories and thinking interlink. Von Suttner, full of vitality, went from living the the nonchalant life of a young aristocrat to became a dedicated peace activist and author - a story of personal growth and female emanicipation. Nobel, an engimatic character who combined technical passion with a literary interest, increasingly looked for ways to support peaceful solutions as an alternative to war, and von Suttner prodded him on through the stages of the writing of his last will. The reader is also taken on a journey through a Europe in an era of fundamental changes - the decline of the aristocracy and the rise of the bourgeoisie, the explosion of industrialization and the stark contrast of militarism and a peace-movement full of optimism in "La Belle Epoque." But most of all, this is a moving story that sheds new light on the origins of the Nobel Peace Prize, in which the woman behind gets her rightful place. The author Anne Synnøve Simensen developed her interest in the topic when she worked at the Nobel Peace Prize Centre in Oslo. First published by the Norwegian publishing company Cappelen Damm (2012), this is a revised and amplified edition for an English-speaking audience.

Austrian writer and peace activist Bertha von Suttner was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. As founder of the Austrian and German Peace Associations and the author of a number of novels and several works on peace, von Suttner's name became synonymous worldwide with peace activism and protest against old world order. Ironically, her death eight days before the outbreak of World War I was seen by her contemporaries as a symbolic end of the possibility for world peace. In Bertha von Suttner, Brigitte Hamann has written the most comprehensive biography of the celebrated journalist - translated into English by Ann Dubsky - tracing not only von Suttner's life and work but spanning the political and social frontier of Austria on the eve of World War I. Von Suttner's novel Die Waffen Nieder! (Lay Down Your Arms!), published in 1899, was a bestseller and brought her international acclaim. Indeed, Tolstoy compared her technique of rallying readers to her cause to that of Harriet Beecher Stowe in Uncle Tom's Cabin for the emancipation of American slaves. Her lectures on peace and disarmament took her throughout Europe and the United States, where she formed close friendships with Andrew Carnegie, Alfred Nobel, Theodor Herzl, and Albert I of Monaco. As her conviction to initiate peace movements deepened, so her books became more impassioned. Her dictum, "universal sisterhood is necessary before the universal brotherhood is possible", demonstrated that her concerns extended beyond the peace movement to include women's issues and many social causes, making von Suttner's work quite relevant at the close of the twentieth century.

"[A] brilliant new book . . . Humane provides a powerful intellectual history of the American way of war. It is a bold departure from decades of historiography dominated by interventionist bromides." —Jackson Lears, The New York Review of Books A prominent historian exposes the dark side of making war more humane In the years since 9/11, we have entered an age of endless war. With little debate or discussion, the United States carries out military operations around the globe. It hardly matters who’s president or whether liberals or conservatives operate the levers of power. The United States exercises dominion everywhere. In Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, Samuel Moyn asks a troubling but urgent question: What if efforts to make war more ethical—to ban torture and limit civilian casualties—have only shored up the military enterprise and made it sturdier? To advance this case, Moyn looks back at a century and a half of passionate arguments about the ethics of using force. In the nineteenth century, the founders of the Red Cross struggled mightily to make war less lethal even as they acknowledged its inevitability. Leo Tolstoy prominently opposed their efforts, reasoning that war needed to be abolished, not reformed—and over the subsequent century, a popular movement to abolish war flourished on both sides of the Atlantic. Eventually, however, reformers shifted their attention from opposing the crime of war to opposing war crimes, with fateful consequences. The ramifications of this shift became apparent in the post-9/11 era. By that time, the US military had embraced the agenda of humane war, driven both by the availability of precision weaponry and the need to protect its image. The battle shifted from the streets to the courtroom, where the tactics of the war on terror were litigated but its foundational assumptions went without serious challenge. These trends only accelerated during the Obama and Trump presidencies. Even as the two administrations spoke of American power and morality in radically different tones, they ushered in the second decade of the “forever” war. Humane is the story of how America went off to fight and never came back, and how armed combat was transformed from an imperfect tool for resolving disputes into an integral component of the modern condition. As American wars have become more humane, they have also become endless. This provocative book argues that this development might not represent progress at all.

Die Waffen nieder! (1889), translated into English in 1892 as Lay Down Your Arms, was an international bestseller. Its Austrian author Bertha von Suttner (1843-1914) chose the medium of fiction in order to reach as broad an audience as possible with her pacifist ideals. Challenging the narrow nationalisms of nineteenth-century Europe, Suttner believed that disputes between nations should be settled by means of arbitration rather than armed conflict. She devoted her life to campaigning for the cause of peace, and in 1905 became the first female recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Suttner’s influential novel yields insights into the early development of calls for a united Europe and an end to the arms race. This English translation of the novel was carried out as a ‘labour of love’ by the eminent Victorian surgeon and medical scholar Timothy Holmes (1825-1907), the editor of Gray’s Anatomy, for whom this was an unusual foray into the world of fiction. Holmes was Vice-Chairman of the London-based International Arbitration and Peace Association and a contemporary of Suttner. His translation helped to spread Suttner’s views across the Anglophone world, and contributed to the growth of the peace movement in the period before the First World War.

'Supriya Vani's book will educate people about gender equality and inspire women to rise up to their potential. It will inspire parents not to clip the wings of their daughters. All our girls are meant for stars, and they need equality and freedom to flourish.' --Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai and her father Ziauddin Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai, Tawakkol Karman, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, Shirin Ebadi -- these women and others like them shaped the history of their peoples through their fight against political persecution, social deprivation and gender discrimination. The Nobel Peace Prize memorializes their achievements and courage and ability to inspire hope in others. Through the life portraits of sixteen women Nobel Peace laureates, peace activist and journalist Supriya Vani argues that the fate of the world is inextricably tied to the emancipation of women, and that the cause of world peace urgently requires women leaders. These stories, the result of six years of painstaking research and many interviews, show how we have much to learn from the laureates, from the events that shaped their work to their inner journey of spirit. Women in the workplace, at home, as mothers and nurturers, as leaders, will all find something to take away from this collection. Battling Injustice is an authentic record of women's cultural history, told through the lives of some of the most remarkable women since modernity.'The lives of the women Nobel Peace laureates detailed in this book by Supriya Vani are clear evidence of my belief that women are naturally more sensitive to others' needs and well-being. They have greater potential for expressing love and affection. Therefore, when, as now, compassionate leadership is required, women should take on a greater role in making this world a better place.' --His Holiness the Dalai Lama 'Supriya Vani's stories of Nobel Peace laureates amount to much more than a sincere tribute to some of the world's most fearless women. By bringing us their voices, their vulnerabilities, their wisdom, she inspires us all to make a difference in the world by tapping into our better selves.' --Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post'A monumental effort by a vivacious young woman on the human potential for goodness.' --Sharon Stone, American actress and human rights activist'Since 1999, Nobel Peace Prize laureates have been gathering to reaffirm their commitment to peaceful means of resolving the world'sproblems. I admire the contribution of women laureates, their energy and warmth. As shown in this book by Supriya Vani, they give their hearts to our common efforts and to the younger generations that will continue their great work.' --Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union 'Supriya Vani's book is for everyone across the globe. I am sure it will spur many souls to tread the path of humanitarian service, to choose a life of peace and love.' --Nobel Peace laureate Tawakkol Karman 'This book will inspire and motivate young people to work for peace.' --Cherie Blair, British barrister and spouse of former British prime minister Tony Blair 'I recommend this book to the youth. It can inspire them to reach their goals.' --Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi 'Supriya Vani rightly highlights the fact that the world needs more women leaders, who are spiritually, mentally and emotionally equipped to bring peace to our planet.' --Nobel Peace laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum 'I hope those who read this book will feel inspired to work for disarmament and peace.' --Nobel Peace laureate Mairead Maguire 'In February of 2017, at the XVI World Summit of Nobel Peace laureates held in Bogota, I had the happy opportunity to meet with six of my fellow female laureates. They represent the values of courage, determination, generosity and solidarity shared by millions of women around the planet, who strive each day to make a better, freer and more peaceful world. That is why I welcome and cherish this book by Supriya Vani -- the stories of all the sixteen women Nobel Peace laureates must be known. They are a source of inspiration forour youth and every one of us.' --Juan Manuel Santos Calderon, president of Colombia and a Nobel peace laureate