Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace:
Reviews and Reader's Comments



"In this book, written to accompany her novel, Judith Hand provides an inspirational vision of what a civilization might be like . . . ."

      Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Ph.D.
      Author, Infanticide and Mother Nature

"In Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace, author Judith Hand (an expert in the field of Animal Behavior and Evolutionary Biology) addresses the biological basis of war and describe necessary steps needed to achieve lasting peace. Emphasizing the crucial role women must play in partnership with men to make the dream of a peaceful future into reality, Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace is an uplifting message advocating positive change for a truly better world. A work of vision grounded in science and human behavior as surely as noble ideals."

      Midwest Review of Books
      October, 2004

"Give peace a chance. Here is a book where you can find out how. Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace is possibly the most important book on paradigm change you will ever read."


      Patricia Baird, Ph.D.
      Professor, Dept. Biol. Sciences
      California State University, Long Beach

"Dr. Hand has long been an important contributor to our thinking about relationships between males and females and the evolution of communication behavior. It's good to see her turn her attention and skills to the question of aggression and why males and females respond differently. This book is an important and thoughtful contribution to the literature on male female dynamics, far superior to John Gray and other such works."

      Raymond Pierotti, Ph.D.
      Professor of Evolutionary Ecology, U. of Kansas


"Everybody speculates, in general, philosophically, if Homo sapiens will ever be free from war. This is the first time anybody has actually figured out, specifically, biologically, how we might avoid it in the future."

      A.B. Curtiss
      Author, Depression is a Choice


"Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace is a compelling work. Dr. Hand blends sound, academic research and readable, accessible prose into a visionary and persuasive thesis."

      Robert Goodman, Ph.D.
      President, San Diego Publishers Alliance


"Judith Hand's research dazzles me because of the wide scope of her background. She draws on sources ranging from anthropological research into goddess cultures to the territoriality of seagulls. After encountering the ideas of scholars from Konrad Lorenz (On Aggression, 1966) to Chris Hedges (War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, 2002), I felt a sense of despair for the human race. But amazingly, Dr. Hand demonstrates that war isn't inevitable-being neither biologically nor culturally mandated-if . . . . Her discussion of what that "if" entails suggests a change that is both achievable and morally essential. Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace has the potential to change the world."

      Maggie Wingfield
      Author, Academy of the Soul, Earth Campus


"This book explains scientifically how, if we are ever going to have lasting peace, women must have a role."

      Robert Lawrence Holt
      Author, NY Times Bestseller Good Friday


"Should be required reading for anyone in politics. Judith Hand examines the causes of and suggests paths for avoiding future wars. She presents an argument for gender equality from a scientist's perspective. What makes her voice especially compelling is that she sees a world where neither sex is dominant. A world of male/female partnership. "

      Barry Friedman, M.D. Former Chairman,
      Department of Orthopedic Surgery,
      Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Cleveland, OH


"Hand focuses through a biological lens on a topic of critical contemporary relevance: world peace. She walks the reader thru myth, history, and literary criticism to use the Keftians as a model for women and peace. Her speculation, tempered by her competence in biology and anthropology, provides an intriguing tale, and brings her previous novel into the real world."

      Alan Brush, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, Biol., U. of Connecticut

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