Making Violence Untenable

One of the best, most important books I read in 2014 was The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence by Gary Haugen and Victor Boutros. My review appeared in PRISM, and I followed it up with two posts here as well.

The book was warmly and attentively reviewed by publications like The Economist, Stanford’s Social Innovation Review, Books and Culture, and outlets across the spectrum, ranging from The Gospel Coalition to Sojourners. It’s a rare book that manages to do that.

But in case such commendations from me and others don’t bump the book to the top of your reading list, here’s the next best thing. In a TED Talk just released this week, Haugen effectively conveys the gist of the book. I don’t think you’ll regret taking 20 minutes to watch it.