The Anatomy of Peace, Third Edition

Resolving the Heart of Conflict

By: The Arbinger Institute

Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith

Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

This phenomenal best seller - over 525,000 copies sold - is now expanded in a new third edition and explores how we often misunderstand the causes of our conflicts and shows us the paths to achieving true peace within ourselves and our relationships. 

In this day and age, perhaps there is nothing more important than knowing how to heal relationships that are breaking and how to maintain connections when people are pulling apart. So many of our conflicts seem unsolvable, but what if conflicts at home, at work, and in the world stem from the same root cause? What if we systematically misunderstand that cause? And what if, as a result, we unwittingly perpetuate the very problems we think we are trying to solve?

This book unfolds as a story. Yusuf al-Falah, an Arab, and Avi Rozen, a Jew, each lost his father at the hands of each other’s cousins. The Anatomy of Peace is the story of how they come together, how they help their warring parents and children come together, and how we too can find our way out of the personal, professional, and global conflicts that weigh us down.

This expanded third edition includes discussions that further explain some of the book’s approaches, current research about key ideas, and how the transformation approach in the book relates to Arbinger’s comprehensive organizational mindset-change process.

©2006, 2020 by Arbinger Properties, LLC (P)2020 by Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Excellent book

Very valuable for personal and professional awareness with relationships, how to engage in more productive connections with people, and to feel more at peace due to having tools to navigate life. I will be listening to it again.

FORMULA FOR PEACE

The Arbinger Institute was founded in 1979 by Dr. C. Terry Warner.  He co-authored “Leadership and Self Deception”.  In 1967 he received his Ph.D. from Yale University and is a professor at Brigham Young University. The Arbinger Institute offers leadership training and consulting to organizations, families, and individuals around the world. 

In “The Anatomy of Peace” a story is told about an Israeli and Palestinian who run a  youth camp for troubled children.  One presumes this is a story, not an actual event, that is designed to advise reader/listeners of the "...Institutes" beliefs. “The Arbinger Institutes” objective is to identify the causes of human conflict and how it can be resolved.

The troubled children’s camp is run by an Israeli and a Palestinian who are at peace with each other despite the conflict in their home country.  Both have lost their fathers because of war.  In their younger adult lives, both harbored hate for their enemies, the killers of their fathers and countrymen.  Their respective stories are about how each overcomes their hate.  It is same as the story of the runaway.  They recognize each other as human beings.  They refer to Martin Buber who wrote the book “I and Thou” which recognizes the importance of reverencing the humanness of all human life.

 What the authors argue is that humans create boxes that carry the weight of who they are--which is not who they really are or mean to be.  In knowing oneself and the boxes we create for ourselves, we act in ways that defy the truth of all people’s humanness.  This idea is old.  It is the same idea that ancient Greeks spoke of when saying “know thyself”.  The Institute teaches that in self-understanding (knowing what boxes one is in) and realization of all people's humanness, one can find peace. The idea is to stay out of boxes that define you. This seems too simple. However, it is not simple or easy because of our inability to break out of boxes that have been formed over years of experience.   The first step is to not objectify other human beings.  Human labeling puts one in a  box.  The box creates someone who is an object, not a fellow human being.  The second is to know yourself and understand your boxes.  The last step is to get rid of the boxes.  Have empathy and do the things that make you feel good about your humanness.

They argue you are in a box if you do not feel good about what you do.  Self-awareness sets one free to find peace.  There is a great deal to offer leaders and managers of other people in the teachings of the Arbinger Institute. A skeptic may find the Arbinger Institute's formula for peace Pollyannaish. It will only change those who choose love and self-understanding in the face of human nature's desire for money, power, and prestige.

Helpful for my mindset toward my children

This book was an easy listen with meaningful ideas to ponder and apply to my own life. I listened to it by recommendation concerning my relationship with my preschool age children. It has been helpful to try and have a heart at peace toward them rather than constantly fighting. I would recommend this book to anyone.

W-O-W

Must read for every person, spouse, boss, employee across the world!

It’s a great example of how to shift from an inward (self absorbed) to an outward mindset!!

The narrator does a great job of describing each individual and becomes easily relatable.

Life changing!!!

Definitely a must read for every human being. The boxes that we find ourselves in could be explained and most importantly,changed to be happier and ultimately find peace in ourselves and with the world around us.

I need to read this each year!

This mindset shifting book has allowed me to see people and myself more clearly. Time to refocus again!!

Phenomenal- life-changing!

This book and the others by the Arbinger Institute are some of the best books I’ve ever read outside of religious books. Somehow very humbling, liberating, and motivating at the same time.

Amazing!

I love this book. It helps me see things differently in life.I hope you reach more people!

Very insightful.

I really enjoyed the concepts taught in this book. l learned a lot listening to it.

Sooo good.

Probably the best book I’ve ever read/listened to. Will probably listen many more times as I work to improve my relationships with those around me. Got a lot of work to do but this book has given me life changing hope.