A review by rbharath
The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict by The Arbinger Institute

informative medium-paced

3.5

I was referred this book by some friends. It tackles the issue of how we get into conflicts with others, how they get worse and how we can resolve this with fresh thinking. Since the book is largely a dialogue among people, the audiobook is a great format. 

The setting is a fictional meeting of a group of people at Camp Moriah. As they dialogue, helped by the hosts, they understand how conflicts are generated in their minds. The primary concept the book covers is – having a heart at peace vs a heart at war. A heart at peace views others as human beings with their aspirations, views, and feelings. A heart at war dehumanizes the other, viewing them as objects. It often becomes a vicious cycle of hate. The later sections move to the ‘The Pyramid of Change’ on how we can set this right. 

This is a well-intentioned book, though conceptually it is sparse and you can find other mindfulness books today which cover more aspects of how we acquire our views, how we can be more self-aware and use that to understand & build fair & sound relationships.