"A revolutionary book!" (B. Stephen Toben, program officer, The Hewlett Foundation) "No practicing mediator, policy maker, court administrator or ADR program director can continue to perform his or her work without a careful reading of this remarkable book." (Joseph B. Stulberg, professor, Wayne State University, and past vice president, SPIDR) "Simply excellent, and very much needed! There are virtually no theoretical or philosophical treatments of mediation in the field at this time that are so clearly articulated." (Margaret S. Herrman, professor, University of Georgia, and founder, National Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution) "This will be a provocative book within the mediation community and is sure to stimulate considerable debate and discussion. I learned a great deal from it and I now think differently about mediation and about how to describe it to others." (Craig A. McEwen, professor, Bowdoin College, and coauthor, Mediation: Law, Policy, Practice.)From the Inside FlapExplores the transformative potential of mediation, showing what that potential is, why it is important, and how it can be realized in practice. Presents an alternative theoretical framework for understanding conflict and mediation, based on valuing both personal strength and compassion for others. Offers a highly concrete, case-illustrated introduction to the actual practice of transformative mediation, using a range of examples and two detailed case studies. Drawing on their own experience and on a wide body of research, the authors offer those at all levels in the mediation fieldpractitioners, administrators, policy makers, and researchersa new and useful perspective to help take stock of how mediation is currently practiced, assess what it can accomplish, and make choices about how to develop the process in the future. They present a powerful case that realizing the full promise of mediation means giving the transformative approach to mediation a central place in theory, policy, and practice.From the Back CoverA look at the transformative potential of mediation. showing what that potential is, why it is important, and how it can be realized in practice. The authors explain the importance of this techniqueand offer a highly concrete, case-illustrated introduction to its practice. In addition, they present an alternative framework for understanding conflict and mediation based on valuing both personal strength and compassion for others. what genre is most popular in books The Promise of Mediation: Responding to Conflict Through Empowerment and Recognition (Jossey-Bass Conflict Resolution)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Paid for New Received a USED Book!By MersedehI paid over $18 for this book because it stated that it was a new copy. Instead, I received a book filled with writing all throughout, heavily underlined and thoroughly used. If I wanted a used book I could have bought one for $5. Needless to say I am returning and am very disappointed!14 of 16 people found the following review helpful. Worth your timeBy A CustomerA well reasoned look at mediation with a very different goal from most guides to mediation. If you know nothing about mediation you will learn a great deal, though all from one perspective, and if you are well versed in mediation skills you will have your conceptions challenged. In the end it doesn't matter if you agree with the authors, it is worth the time to be exposed to their ideas.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Possible paradigm shiftBy Jeffrey LeeperWanting to learn more about mediation and the mechanics of it, I picked up this book; however, that is not what this book was written for. This books was written more as a reconsideration of why we mediate.Mediation is geared to finding a solution between two parties, and it is used as an alternative to judicial action. The authors point out that mediation can, and should, be about more than just finding a resolution. They point out that aiming for empowerment of the individual parties and their recognition of the other party should be the "transformative" goal.To illustrate, the authors dissect some mediation sessions and point out what questions could have been asked and what questions shouldn't have been asked. Given the number of sessions this is done (and the lack of sessions where the transformative goal is used), it is hard to tell if this would work. If we use a transformative goal, will mediation be better?Ideally, I am inclined to agree. Although as an aspiring mediator I would have a problem with not finding a solution, I would have to agree that empowering the parties to work towards a better world is a great aim. However, even if we explain this to the parties? Will they accept a mediation that doesn't work towards a resolution, but rather works towards helping the parties grow as people (with a resolution just being a side note)? I am not so sure.I would recommend the book to future mediators so that they can see what could happen and hopefully get ideas for making mediation more meaningful.