Paul R. Fleischman, psychiatrist, author and long-time meditator, writes about the psychology, wisdom and poetry of those who have inspired him in his personal quest for harmony and happiness.

The learnable qualities of peaceful living are brought into focus by examining the lives of diverse exemplars such as Mahatma Gandhi, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, the Buddha, John Muir, Scott and Helen Nearing, and Rabindranath Tagore. His ultimate example is an autobiographical account of his own experience with his practice of Vipassana.

The final chapter of the book is a compelling appeal to all people to walk the path of peace as a way of healing the earth itself. This new paperback edition includes a new introduction and a foreword by Professor William Radice, noted Tagore scholar and poet.

"It's important to appreciate at the outset that peace is a dynamic product of the way you live, and not a mere parenthesis or vacation from who you really are," writes the author.