LOVE and WAR: Human Nature in Crisis by Rudolf Harmsen and Paddy W. Welles

A TIMELY BOOK to understand humanity and meet the challenges of our planet.

Love and War deepens our understanding and brings us one step closer to that distant day when we will lay down our sword and shield and deserve the name Homo sapiens—wise human beings. ~ Sam Keen, Best-selling author of Faces of the Enemy

Attention all college professors and students! This book is now available on Kindle (click here.)

Love and War presents the reader with the evidence for two serious challenges mankind will have to face towards the end of this century – environmental collapse and the possibility of nuclear war – and argues that these two threats are going to be very difficult to avoid. The reason for this is that our emotional lives, drives, and behaviors are the result of many millennia of natural selection for survival of those who exploited nature to their own advantage and fought wars at the expense of others. These two major aspects of human nature are deeply ingrained in our psyches and are the cause of the crisis we will soon face. Our only way out, argue the authors Dr. Harsen and Dr. Welles, is to consciously and rationally focus on another aspect of human nature: love. This may be the only emotion we can count on to convince the majority of mankind to turn the road to disaster around.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:  Dr. Rudolf Harmsen received his Ph.D. from Cambridge University, Cambridge, Great Britain.  He is a Professor Emeritus of Biology on the faculty of Queens University in Canada.  He has written for many distinguished journals, books, and encyclopedias and has produced popular television programs to help children understand the animal world.   

Paddy S. Welles, Ph.D., is the author of two books, To Stand In Love (Geist & Russell Companies / 2000) and Are You Ready for Lasting Love? (Marlowe & Co. / 2002).  She holds a Ph.D. in Child and Family Studies from Syracuse University and is a skilled marriage and family therapist and former university professor. Dr. Welles lectures through- out the year at universities and colleges.

These two highly-educated and well-traveled authors each have memories of war from their childhoods, Rudolf Harmsen living in Nazi-occupied Holland as a child, and Paddy Welles in North Carolina huddling with her family during air raid drills of WWII.  Combining Harmsen’s expertise in evolutionary ecology and Welles’ expertise  in psychology, along with their personal stories and insights, Love and War is monumental in its depth and sophistication in understanding the human condition. 

ENDORSEMENTS:

Love and War: Human Nature in Crisis provides a comprehensive analysis of nothing less than the prospects for the future of the human race.  The authors are not only deep thinkers, but they are also experienced observers of humans and other animals. The book is full of compelling stories based on their own experiences and studies in as disparate places as Borneo and Banks Island in the Canadian arctic.  Their argument concerning the urgency of changing our ways as myopic, self-indulgent consumers is indisputable. If we can learn to love other life on this planet, we might have a chance to save it and ourselves. ~ Robert Bateman, World famous wildlife artist, naturalist and author

Love and War: Human Nature in Crisis is a priceless gift to humanity. We know the ravages of war within the world and within ourselves. This book is a reminder of love's universal and eternal embrace, offering hope – a great guide for cultivating the seeds of love and eliminating the weeds of war.  Read this book, look in the mirror and allow change in your life. ~ Phil Jordan, internationally recognized psychic consultant

This book is an excellent and well-researched integration of biology and psychology and of science and fascinating personal experiences. It will inspire us, every reader, to analyze our personal behavior and strive to be more compassionate persons if we desire to survive this century and leave our progeny a sustainable planet.  ~ Peter Kolassa, Esquire, Director of Hoffman Institute / Canada

You will receive valuable insights into modern biology, practical psychology and original research from reading this book, as well as enjoy amusing anecdotes and nice poetry.  Most of all you will be touched by the enthusiasm, honesty, and internationalism of the writers as they argue for a new way of living to create a new world order. To readers in the developing world, Asia, Africa, Arabia, and Latin America, such voices from America and Canada are heartwarming and encouraging. A better world is possible. ~ Dr. Harbans Nagpal, Psychoanalyst Psychiatrist, Paris and Delhi, India

The book Love and War by R. Harmsen & P.S. Welles: This is a perceptive and insightful exploration of the two greatest features of being human. And, these will rule the future, for better or worse. To understand them is crucial to the long-term survival of our species.

The academic content of this book is exceptional—accurate and well described for comprehension, but I love the personal stories! They add the perfect touch to inspire us to take the action needed to understand the crisis we have created and the critical need for us to change before another war destroys our world .~ Jarmila Peck, Renowned Paleontologist, Czech Republic and Canada

Love and War is a stunning tour de force which traces the darkest shadows of our progenitors on humankind’s evolutionary journey through individual, societal, communal, and nation-state relationships.  It is a compelling and wonderfully readable analysis of how innate latent noble and fearsome factors in the human psyche surface in varying circumstances.  In demonstrating how the latter can collectively lead to hostilities to achieve tribal or national goals, this book provides profound psychological insights as to why nations in the twenty-first century still employ war as an instrument of national policy.  The authors specify what we must do, as nations and individuals, to create a global community working in concert to deal with the now-recognized universal threats to life on Earth. ~ Harry J. Petrequin, Jr., Retired U. S. Senior Foreign Service Officer, Former Faculty Member, National Defense University, Active member of Veterans for Peace