The search for peace is long and arduous. The author suggests the next step forward is "consensus." The sections in this book review the alternatives of monarchy, elitism, majority rule, institutions, and then consensus. Consensus is examined in science, in the Religious Society of Friends, and in the Twelve-Step fellowships.

The conversion to consensus is not easy. Even in Twelve-Step Fellowships that claim to use consensus, it does not permeate the fellowship. The final section in this book explores one example effort to add more consensus into one specific Twelve-Step Fellowship. This example was chosen to illustrate the effort to create change.

This book does not give a Pollyannaish view of the process. The process to introduce consensus into any environment will take time, patience, and effort. It will not happen, however, until someone tries.