Peace Guerilla is a vivid memoir that illuminates the process of dealing with fearsome brutal leaders one would be afraid to have dinner with – and why we should do so. There is tension when Hoffman travels deep into the African bush to meet face to face with Joseph Kony, a violent war lord in Uganda who was abducting child soldiers and terrorizing the population. There are insights on every page on topics ranging from negotiating techniques, US diplomacy and African leadership. And there is the heartbreak failure and it’s tragic consequences. Hoffman discovers that a mediator must discard neutrality in favour of a bias for peaceful agreement. A mediator must wage peace with the same intensity as the guerilla fighter pursues violent domination. At the heart of it all is the challenge of transforming power from violence to peace; and that in turn brings our values into sharp focus.
Reviews for Peace Guerilla
“Some of Ben Hoffman’s true story of dangerous meetings with the Lords Resistance Army’s noto-rious lead Joseph Kony and other dark figures to free thousands of children abducted in Uganda appear in the upcoming Hollywood movie Girl Soldier. This book gives an insider’s account that few have ever heard or could imagine of what it takes to end violence.”
Will Raee, Director, Girl Soldier
“Ben Hoffman is an exceptional Canadian, a truly professional ‘peace guerilla’ who has done incredible things for peace in the most troubled regions of the world, as well as in Canada. His fascinating story will make us proud to be Cana-dian, and inspire us to put Canada back on the map as a world leader in peacemaking. His is a story that had to be told. Ben is focused on making a positive difference…and he does.”
Mr Gordon Breedyk, Chair, Civilian Peace Service Canada (CPSC).
“Every policymaker and diplomat concerned with ending war and preventing it in the first place, graduate student and other who would become peaceworkers, and curious readers who wonder how high stakes peace negotiations take place and what they require to be successful should read this book.”
Dr. Andrew Blum, Program Officer, United States Institute of Peace.
“I know of no other book that gives such deep insight into the emotional, intellectual and technical effort it takes to mediate peace. As a practitioner, teacher and mentor, Ben Hoffman ‘walks the talk’; and Peace Guerilla shows those of us who work for peace that we can make the world less violent if we really try.”
Lisa Ibscher, Mediator, Nepal
“Peace Guerilla is exciting, instructive, and conveys a sense of immediacy which is nearly cinematic. This is a ‘must read’ that will become a classic in the field of foreign affairs, international mediation and violence prevention, African Studies, and US foreign policy.”
Lieutenant Colonel James Arbuckle, O.M.M., C. D., Canadian Armed Forces (ret’d).
