People of Peace: 40 Inspiring Icons

Some of the people in this book will be well-known, but there are some interesting stories previously unknown to this reviewer: Victor Schoelcher, who signed the decree abolishing slavery in France; Sophie Scholl, who was executed, aged 21, for distributing anti- Nazi regime leaflets around her university; Jody Williams who campaigned successfully against anti-personnel mines, and Tegla Loroupe, Kenyan marathon runner and peace activist. Daniel Barenboim is there for his work with Edward Said in forming the East-West Divan Orchestra with Arabs and Jews together, Henri Dunant, founder of the Red Cross, and Bertha von Suttner who was vice-president of the International Peace Bureau. Malala seems to be in lots of books at the moment, but her work is indeed very important.

The book consists of 40 double-page spreads, with a stylised picture of the person on the right hand page and brief information in bite-sized chunks on both sides. There are plenty of photographs of most of these people available, but no doubt  it costs less to use a recognisable cartoon image than an actual photograph,  and  certainly this gives the book its own very definite style, and makes it good value and a useful addition to the library for information, or for browsing.  It is one of a series: others feature Fantastic Footballers, Music Legends, and Greek Gods and Heroes.