The Big Book of Restorative Justice: Four Classic Justice & Peacebuilding Books in One Volume

by Howard Zehr, Allan Macrae, Kay Pranis

For the first time, the four most popular restorative justice books in the Justice & Peacebuilding series— The Little Book of Restorative Revised and Updated , The Little Book of Victim Offender Conferencing , The Little Book of Family Group Conferences , and The Little Book of Circle Processes —are available in one affordable volume.

Restorative justice, with its emphasis on identifying the justice needs of everyone involved in a crime, is a worldwide movement of growing influence that is helping victims and communities heal while holding criminals accountable for their actions. This is not a soft-on-crime, feel-good philosophy, but rather a concrete effort to bring justice and healing to everyone involved in a crime. Circle processes draw from the Native American tradition of gathering in a circle to solve problems as a community. Peacemaking circles are used in neighborhoods, in schools, in the workplace, and in social services to support victims of all kinds, resolve behavior problems, and create positive climates.

Each book is written by a scholar at the forefront of these movements, making this important reading for classrooms, community leaders, and anyone involved with conflict resolution.

Genres: Nonfiction, Counselling

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2015

About the author

Howard Zehr is an American criminologist, prolific writer and editor, speaker, educator, and photojournalist; widely considered to be a pioneer of the modern concept of restorative justice.

Widely known as “the grandfather of restorative justice,” Zehr began as a practitioner and theorist in restorative justice in the late 1970s at the foundational stage of the field. He has led hundreds of events in more than 25 countries and 35 states, including trainings and consultations on restorative justice, victim-offender conferencing, judicial reform, and other criminal justice matters. His impact has been especially significant in the United States, Brazil, Japan, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Britain, the Ukraine, and New Zealand, a country that has restructured its juvenile justice system into a family-focused, restorative approach.

Zehr was an early advocate of making the needs of victims central to the practice of restorative justice. A core theme in his work is respect for the dignity of all peoples.

Reviews

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

With thanks to my cousin, Yari Sandel of Oakland Public Schools for the recommendation! Lots of good ideas that I look forward to putting into practice.

[Janeane Marks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be inspiring and hopeful- so welcome during these challenging, transitional times. I couldn’t “rate” this book because the concepts discussed by the authors of 4 books are sometimes repetitive. In my mind, that’s okay and needed, actually. We have been living in a culture of “crime and punishment”, blaming the other and it’s not working. We need to rethink our criminal justice system, how we support minority communities, our school communities, our disadvantaged communities.

[Steve Wehling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compilation of four RJ books provides a great overview of the processes that fall under the RJ umbrella. These are not "how-to" books, but foundational books outlining key components of the process and exploring some examples of its application.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent anthology of four restorative justice books that provide an effective overview of circles ability to be used to bring about justice by addressing harms.