The End of Violence - by Gary Slutkin (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A paradigm-shifting new approach to ending the epidemic of violence in our lifetime, using the same epidemic control playbook that has rid the world of other contagious diseases.

"Leads us down an entirely new path to a world beyond violence" -Nicholas Kristoff

Violence is often described as a social issue, a moral failing, or a universal human instinct. But in fact, argues epidemiologist and violence prevention expert Dr. Gary Slutkin, violence is disease, infecting people and societies via the same process as any other epidemic. When a shooting occurs in a school, a political figure is assassinated, or an authoritarian leader invades a sovereign nation, it's not just a tragic event--it's an outbreak.

As an infectious disease physician, Slutkin helped end the epidemics of cholera, tuberculosis, and AIDS in Africa and Asia with the World Health Organization. This led him to uncover the science of how violence enters our brains, replicates, and gets transmitted from one person to another.

In THE END OF VIOLENCE, Dr. Slutkin offers a proven alternative to the failed strategies of deterrence and incarceration: a time-tested public health approach that reduces exposure, interrupts transmission, and prevents the disease from spreading.

Using this playbook, Dr. Slutkin's organization, Cure Violence Global, has dramatically reduced or eliminated violence in some of the deadliest neighborhoods in Chicago, Baltimore, New York City, Los Angeles, and across central America. Similar methods have been used to end civil wars, avert a nuclear conflict, and curtail gender-based violence around the world.

From mass shootings, to state tyranny, to genocide and war, it's all the same disease - and it also requires the same cure. We already have the tools we need to protect ourselves, heal our communities, and end all forms of violence. It's time to use them.

Review Quotes

"Dr. Slutkin can predict violence and see it move from one person to another, like a contagion. And like disease transmission, he shows violence can be interrupted, and potentially cured. He gives hope to what has always felt like a hopeless issue."--Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Associate Chief of Neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital, Chief Medical Correspondent For CNN

"Dr. Slutkin is revolutionizing the field entirely. This book does more than explain his discovery that violence is a communicable disease--it also offers extremely practical applications. The world needs this book now to change the tide of violence and build a world of peace."--Rima Salah, former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations

"Dr. Slutkin leads us down an entirely new path to a world beyond violence. This is an inspiring journey that leads us to see problems in a new light, and to tackle them in new ways."--Nicholas Kristof, Two- time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist New York Times Op-Ed Columnist

"Gary Slutkin is one of the most important thinkers and activists in the vital effort to understand and reduce violent crime....an invaluable contribution."--Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, author of The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

"No more pressing challenge faces us today than the epidemic of violence. Surprisingly, there is a cure. In this all-important book, epidemiologist Gary Slutkin brings 25 years of deep experience and knowledge to show us how we can use the paradigm of public health to cure the world of this deadly epidemic. This book could not be more relevant or useful."--William Ury, New York Times bestselling Author of Getting to Yes, Co-founder of the Harvard Program on Negotiation and the International Negotiation Network with Jimmy Carter

"The End of Violence is a visionary work. A must-read, not only for practitioners but also for everyday people who care about their families, their futures, and those around them."--Dr. Susan L. Bissell, Founding Director, Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, former Global Chief, Child Protection, UNICEF

About the Author

Dr. Gary Slutkin is a physician and epidemiologist and the CEO of Cure Violence an innovator in violence prevention. As Director of Intervention at the World Health Organization, Dr. Slutkin previously led efforts to combat epidemics of tuberculosis, cholera, and AIDS in over 25 countries. In 2000, Dr. Slutkin founded Cure Violence Global, which has applied epidemiological methods to stop the spread of violence in some of the most violent neighborhoods in the US. Dr. Slutkin has presented his solution-oriented understanding of the violence epidemic to the World Bank, the State Department, the World Health Organization, the Institute of Medicine, MIT, SaxeLab, Harvard Law School, and the National Intelligence Council.