Portraits of Peacemakers by Robert Shetterly is a pure delight! Well researched and intriguing, Portraits of Peacemakers is an instant classic.

Among the 54 portraits Robert Shetterly has compiled in this compendium of "Americans Who Tell the Truth," are people from history like Jane Addams, Dorothy Day and Philip Berrigan, but the majority of those profiled are still alive, young and old as well.

Each portrait comes with a one-page profile of the activists' work. Shetterly writes that he began the project in 2002, and many of the voices come from the anti-war movement that arose in opposition to George W Bush's war in Iraq, including several veterans of that war, who lend their voices to fight for peace today.

A group essays by five of the peacemakers in portraiture kick off this book. And their calls to action are memorable. I was particularly moved by Chris Hedges's essay, "The Essence of War is Death." Powerful.

This makes a good gift for an activist or an addition to a collection on modern-day activists.

Thanks to NetGalley and NYU Press for providing me with a galley copy of POP in exchange for this heartfelt review.