Social Science; Globalization; Identity, Religion 

We all yearn to live in a peaceful world and yet, wherever we live, we seem to be surrounded by conflict, violence and disharmony. Is there a solution? Can human beings live together in peace? So states the blurb on Andrea Riccardi's book Living Together. These are big questions and this is a small book, but within it the reader will find much wisdom and some hope. Riccardi lectures in History at the University Roma Tre and is the founder of the St Egidio Community - a worldwide movement known for its engagement with peace and social justice. Riccardi writes from a Roman Catholic perspective and clearly has an intimate knowledge of the stories of divorce between nations. This book begins with the author's visit to the Kigali Memorial Centre in Rwanda and asks the question: 'How will people ever live together in peace after all this'? It goes on to cite the many conflicts in recent times such as in Burundi, the massacre of the Armenians, the Holocaust, the Cambodian genocide, the Balkans conflict, among others. With so many dangerous situations in the world how on earth can we learn to live together with such diversity? It seems that history offers us no lessons. The past is peppered with wars, genocides and violence. And each of us now carries more than one identity - family, community, language and religion, all mixed together amidst national identities and groups.