International Year of Peace and Trust
In September of 2019, the United Nations adopted a resolution to designate 2021 as the International Year of Peace & Trust. The UN’s resolution “underlined that the International Year constitutes a means of mobilizing international efforts to promote peace and trust among nations on the basis of political dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation in order to build sustainable peace, solidarity and harmony.”
In that spirit, we have created a list of reads that are related to the topics of peace and trust. You’ll find that this diverse list touches on an array of topics and a few are intended for younger audiences, but can be enjoyed by all. Each month we will highlight books from this list in the pages of our Books & Beyond magazine. All of the titles we’ve selected are available for checkout through Orange County Library System.
Also, here and there through the year we’ll have activities and events related to this topic. This month, Valencia College’s Peace & Justice Institute presents several programs in partnership with Orange County Library System.
APEIROGON by Colum Mccann
The first book from our Read to Understand: Peace & Trust booklist we’ll take a look at was published in February 2020. Real-life events planted the seed for Colum McCann’s Apeirogon. The award-winning novel explores the conflict in the Middle East by following the story of two men who have both lost their daughters; both daughters bystanders to violence.
“McCann’s brilliant act of novel-making builds a wholly believable and infinitely faceted reality … a rich and comprehensive context that allows us into the fathers’ experiences, their histories, their minds.” – New York Times
READ TO UNDERSTAND: PEACE & TRUST
Resist!: Peaceful Acts That Changed Our World
by Diane Stanley
Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Trust First: A True Story About the Power of Giving People Second Chances
by Bruce Deel
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace
by Le Ly Hayslip with Jay Wurts
Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day
by Jay Shetty
I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb
The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers
by Maxwell King
Called to Forgive: The Charleston Church Shooting, a Victim's Husband, and the Path to Healing and Peace
by Anthony B. Thompson with Denise George
A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power
by Jimmy Carter
The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X
by Les Payne and Tamara Payne
Let Your Voice Be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete Seeger
by Anita Silvey
Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor
by Yossi Klein Halevi
You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train
by Howard Zinn
Champions for Peace: Women Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize
by Judith Hicks Stiehm
Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t
by Simon Sinek
The Dog Who Lost His Bark
by Eoin Colfter
Illustrations by P. J. Lynch
Peacemakers: Leadership Lessons from Twentieth-Century Statesmanship
by Bruce W. Jentleson