The Wandering Peacemaker

By Roger Plunk

An international peacemaker chronicles his important work at the bargaining table in Tibet, Burma, Kashmir, and Afghanistan. Original. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1571741798
• ISBN13: 9781571741790
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing Company
• Length: 189 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A ROADMAP TO LASTING PEACE!

This is one of the most important books for our time. Both diplomacy and power politics in the conventional sense are consistently failing the world. The major powers have only one goal, which is to project their narrow national interest-- usually at the expense of others, whose needs are entirely ignored. The United Nations, once the beacon of hope and a cradle of impartiality, is hopelessly corrupt and driven by a Security Council that is no longer representative of today's realities. It's high time for a comprehensive change in our approach to foreign policy, and Roger Plunk, with great humility and sound reasoning, shows us the way. If you're concerned with where the world is heading, buy this book and give copies to your friends!

The Wandering Peacemaker

Roger Plunk began a lifetime of wandering as a child. He did stay put long enough as a young man to earn two law degrees, then he began working for the U.S. State Department. He learned that his calling was to be a mediator and that he had the ability and desire to work for peace one-on-one with world leaders. The Dalai Lama was the first to utilize Plunk's special talents. In The Wandering Peacemaker, his first book, Plunk describes mediation efforts between Tibet and China. From there, he travels to India and Pakistan, Burma, and then to Afghanistan. He not only analyzes the political situation in each dispute, he describes the history of the area and the people involved. Readers get a clear understanding of both sides. Plunk holds strong spiritual beliefs and says "the common thread running through the stories [in his book] is the dynamic relationship between government and spirituality." Plunk was guided by his belief that one person can make a difference. He says, "I was one person on a very low budget engaging in large international issues [and] I did manage to get my message across." Is there a place for spiritual insight in the political arena? Plunk says yes, and his stories demonstrate the power of spiritual healing in international relations. Readers concerned with human problems and world peace will find The Wandering Peacemaker engrossing, and encouraging. Like a modern Johnny Appleseed, Roger Plunk is planting seeds of peace worldwide. One person can make a difference.

Mediation and Meditation

I love it, very enlightening, especially when Plunk writes about Afghanistan, his work with the Northern Alliance, and his captivating discussions with the Dalai Lama. Plunk writes with great clarity, about his journeys as an independent international mediator, venturing into some of the most complicated and violent political conflicts on the planet to connect directly with the leaders and people of Afghanistan and Tibet, to name just a few of his stops. The Wandering Peacemaker is written with a piercing intelligence and a poetic touch that comes staight from the heart as he shares insights from his own spiritual journey. The bowing gesture of devotion, with forehead to the ground, is a perfect metaphor for this book, as Plunk reminds us with every stop along his path to place the heart higher than the head in our common journey towards peace.

Where only angels dare to tread

Plunk shares not only his mediation work in 4 selected countries but also his own spiritual journey. His mediation work reminds me of how a few years ago the vastly outranked US women's volleyball team rallied to win against the world champs, by refusing to even look at the scoreboard and just playing one point at a time. Plunk finds himself invited into some of the most conflict-ridden countries such as Afghanistan and Tibet and manages to focus on his spiritual practices at night while mediating during the day, thus ignoring the scoreboard which would scare away almost every other citizen mediator.

Moving Story Intertwining Spirituality and Human Rights...

The author details his roots in a rascist and bigoted south, moving to Washington DC to get a law degree focussing on human rights under a professor who is a holocaust survivor, finding spirituality along the way, and using these experiences to empower peoples in far-away places, such as Burma and Tibet.The story flows nicely and shows how all of us can improve our spiritually and use our gifts and top flight education to help others, and not just chase dollar bills.This is not a scholarly book, so readers searching for footnotes will be disappointed. For those who can't meet with the Dali Lama or fight for human rights personally, it is very revealing not only about our world but about ourselves.