The Anatomy of Peace

Resolving the Heart of Conflict

By: Arbinger Institute

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

Through an intriguing story of parents struggling with their troubled children and with their own personal problems, The Anatomy of Peace shows how to get past the preconceived ideas and self-justifying reactions that keep us from seeing the world clearly and dealing with it effectively.

Yusuf al-Falah, an Arab, and Avi Rozen, a Jew, each lost his father at the hands of the other's ethnic cousins. As the story unfolds, we discover how they came together, how they help warring parents and children to come together, and how we too can find our way out of the struggles that weigh us down.

The choice between peace and war lies within us. As one of the characters says, "A solution to the inner war solves the outer war as well." This book offers more than hope - it shows how we can prevent the conflicts that cause so much pain in our lives and in the world.

©2006 Arbinger Properties, Inc. (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America

Everyone Should Read This Book

Every person, organization, community and nation can benefit from the ideas and principles set forth in "The Anatomy of Peace". Each of us will undoubtedly recognize our own patterns of justification as we enter into conflict with others around us whether they be our loved ones, our coworkers or our neighbors. This relatively short book is told from the viewpoint of a father who reluctantly attends a workshop for parents of "troubled teens". Through him and the others running or attending the workshop, we learn to recognize unproductive patterns in our behavior which are caused and perpetuate a "heart at war". As if we are attending the workshop ourselves, readers are given the framework to recognize these patterns and to ultimately work toward a "heart at peace". I'm recommending this to my family and friends, but I would also encourage our leaders (religious, commercial, and political) to read and heed as well!

BTW... first time I've been so compelled to write a review!

A Heart of Peace...

Like its forerunner, "Leadership and Self Deception", this book will take you on a journey of self discovery and guide you into looking at how you are "being" in the world and to one another. "The Anatomy of Peace" will show you how to turn your warring heart into a peaceful heart. Listening to the audio is like attending one of the live training sessions. And the fact that it is told in fable form makes it an awesome experience.

Awesome Book

This was an easy listen! The material is easy to follow and beneficial. Anyone who works in the public forum, is related to anybody, or even has interactions with human beings should read this book. It will change your interactions and show you who you really are!

life changing

This is a life changing, simple, but not easy concept. Bring it from your head to your heart, life will become an amazing adventure in seeing the choice of a "heart of love" or a "heart of war"

This had a ton of fake 5 star reviews at Amazon...

...which I didn't know were fake until I downloaded this thing and choked my way through listening to it. (Seriously, go read the 5 star reviews there - 100 of them all sounding like this is the best book ever written, and upon closer inspection, obviously a vast majority of them are fiction - you will agree if you listen to this book). So removing the fact that I was upset that those ratings caused me to buy this thing and waste a credit... my honest review... is that the book itself is a 2 star pretentious pile of poop... with an entirely too long parable that doesn't even come close to delivering on its promises... and that its insights are lackluster and freshman philosophy-ish at best. Download this thing if you hate money, and have absolutely nothing else to listen to. Honestly, I'd rather go talk to a stranger at McDonald's than listen to this thing. And I will never get those hours of my life back. So sad. :-(

Slooooooow!!!

Extremely slow. I tried to give the author and narrator a chance by trying to listen till the end!! The boxes the author talks about are impossible to visualise unless one is there looking at what he has drawn on his board! The narrator also adds to the frustration with his Arab accent imitation of Yousuf. Someone needs to tell him the accent is Hindi and not Arab!!!

FANTASTIC!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Anatomy of Peace?

Agent of Change: By working the bottom of the pyramid, I can influence changes at the top and all around me.

Which character – as performed by Oliver Wyman – was your favorite?

Carol, Lou's wife. She felt like a very strong woman, and at the end, she learned how to be a better wife and mother.

Any additional comments?

This book is fantastic! I got so much out of it! I plan on listening to it again and am considering buying the paperback edition so I can make notes. I am asking several family members to take a look at it and I have talked to my therapist about it. I really feel more Peaceful, since starting to work the ideas from this book.

Eye Opening & Life Changing

This is a very insightful book. It helped me open my eyes to my own actions.

Nice approach for teaching.

If you could sum up The Anatomy of Peace in three words, what would they be?

The book is written as a story and via the story intends to teach a method for being at peace with yourself.
Half way through the book I felt I learned nothing and intended to jump to my next learning.
BUT,
Because the book is written as a story I was tempted to keep listening.
And then the story made me cry, twice!
So I completed the book.
I feel I have learned a new concept which I started considering on my day to day interaction.
I can also understand why the concept is more teachable via a story.
And overall I'm happy to have read the book.
However I don't know if I would recommend this to others as I'm not sure many would like this story approach for teaching.

An absolute MUST read/listen for everyone!

This book and the material it covers could be the key to world peace.

I am so grateful for what it has taught me. The only regret is that I didn't get to learn this in school 40 years ago.

The performance was flawless, captivating and engaging and the story weaved the material into a comprehensible and captivating tale having me long for more... I guess it is time to revisit The Leadership and Self Deception now 🙂

A very thought provoking read

It took a little to get used to the readers voice and performance. The story was good and gave me plenty to digest and work through in my daily interactions.

A great addition or standalone book about personal peace

I liked the premise and the way the stories explained big concepts in a way that normal people can grasp.
It is a great book about how we approach situations, either at war or at peace with the situations we all face will determine the way our efforts are received.
There was enough humour to keep it light enough to laugh when I spotted behaviours I recognised in myself.
As with all great growth books it needs to be read for your own sake, not someone else’s.
Lots of gold in this book.

Thought provoking

Absolutely loved it. Excited to put new learning into practice.
I recommend everyone read it.

fantastic

told really engagingly and with excellent narration. the ideas are so well explained and succinct, easy to comprehend and apply. necessary reading for all humans

Interesting but harder work than Leadership and Self Deception

I enjoyed getting to know the old Lou. It makes me feel better about the start of my journey. Overall it wasn’t as enjoyable or concise as L&SD but I’m glad I listened to it.

High Impact

Since I got to know these books (Anatomy of Peace & Leadership and Self-Deception, I’ve shared these books many times. Giving them to friends who have influences and impact within the community.
I worked as an Area Manager for a chain of pharmacy. I introduce the book to the management and got an approvals for all our pharmacist to read as part of their induction process.
I recently gave it to my 17 yrs old son. In his words, “you don’t know how much impact this book has had in me. It helped me deal with my teachers, fellow students and friends in a much better way.”
I always come back to these books 2 to 3 times a year listening to the audiobook completely. It’s impacted me and people around me tremendously.
I can add corroborating ahadith almost on all the pages.

a timely and timeless book.

One of those rare books that can actually effectuate change. A guide not only for individuals, but also for families and societies.

Great book and wonderful lesson.

Digs deeper into the lessons established in the first book, leadership and self deception. The audio is enjoyable with a great speaker and a good range of voices for the different characters

review

loved it and helped me understand my struggles and start seeing them in a different way

Interesting content but felt the story format was a bit patronising

This book was recommended to me and whilst the message and process has merit and is useful the fact that it needed a story (I still have no idea if it is factual or fictional) which at times was a bit cringeworthy was a bit patronising. Also, the narrators vocal talents and characterisation showed promise, at times it was a bit scary...

Upshot is don't be put off by the format or strange voices, persevere because there is some important stuff in here.