Touching Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living by Thich Nhat Hanh
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Some good stuff in here. Some of the usual mindfulness stuff. A lot of it is anti the second Iraq war, which most people now agree was not a good idea. He’s surprisingly nonjudgmental towards both President Bush and Saddam Hussein. Overall, not a book I’d recommend. There’s a lot of better material out there on any of the topics covered.

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Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Talks a lot about the interconnectedness of humans? For this reason, we should prevent suffering in the world...

I guess this is an alternate argument to the Christians' fundamental sanctity of human life as a reason for human rights.



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The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh

The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Even though this covers basic mindfulness and meditation really well, it's not a good starting place for the average American. It is a great book to revisit if you're already acquainted with the scientific evidence that mindfulness and meditation work, and can even be used in your meditations by following along the text.

As a starting point, I recommend The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt and Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation by Sharon Salzburg. If you're not religious or spiritual Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris would be good too (though maybe skip it if you are religious).

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Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh

Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The first time I read this book I didn't appreciate the concept of meditation or the science behind it. This is a short and simple book about meditation that reads almost as a guided meditation might. I recommend to anyone that wants to actually try meditation and not just read about it.

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