Linn Stalsberg - Selected Title Author
We are happy to present our selected title author Linn Stalsberg. She has written War is contempt for life. An essay on peace (original title: Krig er forakt for liv. Et essay om fred). The book is one of NORLA’s Selected Titles of the spring 2025.
What is your book about?
If we truly want to put an end to war once and for all, we must first speak honestly about its realities and learn from those who have fought for peace without weapons. This book delves specifically into war resistance in the form of pacifism, nonviolence, anti-militarism, and conscientious objection.
It seeks to show that those engaged in peace work—in all its forms—are part of a long and intellectual tradition. We have our brave foremothers and forefathers, our movements, activists, victories, defeats, experiences, books, and dilemmas. But where have these things gone in our collective memory? We have countless war heroes, but where are our peace heroes? What about those who, across thousands of years of history, have been willing to die—but never to kill—for a cause?
The labor and women’s movements have traditionally championed peace. But today, as militarization surges in the midst of a climate and environmental crisis, the peace movement must also ally itself with the environmental movement—in a shared fight for all living things.
Who is the intended audience for this book?
This book is for anyone longing for a conversation about war and peace different from the one we usually see in the news, dominated as it is by military spending, weapons stockpiling, and arms races. It is written for everyone, from young to old, regardless of their prior knowledge of or experience in peace activism. The goal is to bring attention to historical facts that are often overlooked—the courageous individuals who fought for the right to refuse to be soldiers, the women and men who sacrificed friendships, marriages, and even their homelands in their stand against war and violence, and the historic victories won through nonviolence and other life-risking methods. The goal is to empower the reader should one wish to take on an active role in society outside the military. If we know our history and the foundation of our stance, we can stand steadier in the storm.
Read more
See full presentation of the book here
See all NORLA’s Selected Titles for the spring 2025 here
