A Chorus of Stones: The Private Life of War.

New York, NY Anchor Books, 1993. Trade Paperback. First Edition Thus [1993]; First Printing indicated. First Edition Thus [1993]; First Printing indicated. Very Near Fine in Wraps: two pages show a faint, clearly inadvertent dog-eared at the upper corner right at the corner tip and the rear panel shows a crease as well; else, shows only a bit of sunning to the light pink background field of the backstrip (the black titles thereon remain unaffected, bold and clearly legible); the pages have tanned ever so slightly. The binding remains square and secure; text clean. Virtually 'As New', with only very minor imperfections. NOT a Remainder. NOT a Book-Club Edition. NOT an Ex-Library copy. 8vo. 363pp. (The hardcover edition was published in the preceding year by Doubleday). Trade Paperback. So much of history is centered on warfare. And then, so much of warfare is historically rooted in a traditional perspective of leaders, politics, and other "big" events. Is there a deeper and more complex truth to all this? Now, here comes Susan Griffin, and her ideas flow freely out of the conventional boxes of interpretation. In "Chorus of Stones," she examines "small" events, and especially the internal dynamics of family relationships, and then links them to the "big" events -- like the invention of the hydrogen bomb or the decision to fire-bomb Dresden. In the process, she shows the reader how such wide-sweeping historical catastrophes like wars are inextricably connected with small, often trivialized realities whose real significance can go unnoticed, or even be repressed. If you ever thought about the old adage that "we won't understand war until we understand why couples argue with each other," then this book will fascinate you. It's a real shame that it hasn't received more attention, for it challenges so many of our notions about the separation of "personal" and "public" lives. Susan Griffin has captured the interconnectedness of life, war, relationships and evolution in a scope so vast, so all encompassing that it left me breathless. An amazingly successful synthesis of conveying the macrocosm by studying the microcosm. It had me scribbling down 'quotable quotes', until I soon realised that almost everything she says is profound, well thought out and corresponding to all my notions of truth. In a time when the USA is contemplating war, everyone would be well served by reading this book. Susan Griffin's work is one of startling intellectual scope written in a language that is as sparing as it is poetic. I am in awe of A Chorus of Stones and am saddened by the fact that it seems to be relatively unknown. Fascinating through and through!