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RICHARD GREGG WAS A TWENTIETH-CENTURY PACIFIST and social philosopher. He was among the first Americans to study with Mohandas Gandhi in India and later wrote The Power of Non-Violence, the essential guide to peaceful protest that informed the methods of Martin Luther King, Jr., in the American civil rights movement and inspired many other activists. Gregg’s holistic vision of a peaceful and compassionate world combines nonviolence, environmental sustainability, and simple living.

A few years ago, John Wooding went looking for Richard Gregg and his own father, Gerry, to understand the peace-loving nature of both of them. In the end he found a common thread connecting two very different men, one with a life of travel and writing, the other with a short record. Both were men of peace.

In this first biography of Gregg, a little-known but significant figure of the twentieth century, we see that the story is suddenly urgent, given the recent vast demonstrations demanding social justice. Gregg was eager to learn about Gandhi’s approach to conflict resolution and living with a light footprint on earth. In the 1930s, Gregg published an influential guide to nonviolent protest, The Power of Non-Violence, which influenced leaders of the American civil rights movement.

Gregg’s vision for living compassionately integrates Thoreau-style simple living and sustainable farming techniques with a commitment to nonviolent resistance to injustice and war.

“A major figure in pacifist thinking and action, Richard Gregg’s ideas were central to the civil rights struggle in America and embraced by peace advocates on the ground in the Middle East, Africa, and Ireland. This first biography of Gregg sheds important light on the development of his thinking and values.”

—Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner; president of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa; and executive director of the Women, Peace, and Security Program at the Earth Institute at Columbia University

“Richard Gregg brought Gandhi’s vision of nonviolent resistance to the West. His work on voluntary simplicity and the value of living in harmony with nature was one of the first attempts to integrate sustainability and peaceful living. John Wooding’s biography gives his ideas and his life the importance they deserve.”

— John Prendergast, human rights activist and co-founder of The Sentry and The Enough Project       

“This biography of Richard Gregg is long overdue. Gregg’s work is critical to understanding peaceful protest and the value of simple living. John Wooding provides fresh insights about this remarkable figure who changed how we think about resisting oppression peacefully and resolving conflict.”

—Tawakkol Abdel-Salam Khalid Karman, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the human rights group Women Journalists Without Chains

Richard Gregg has been forgotten far too long for someone whose influence was central to shaping the civil rights movement. King’s acknowledgement of Gregg’s importance was grounded in recognition that training for nonviolent resistance drew directly from Gregg’s writings. In the long arc of history, Wooding is owed an enormous debt of gratitude for giving us this intimate look at Gregg and his ideas, bringing to life the contributions of one man working to bend the arc toward justice. 

 —John Saltmarsh, Professor, College of Education and Human Development, University of Massachusetts, Boston