Recent uprisings on a global scale that have called public attention to issues such as equality, neoliberalism, and redistribution of wealth have been organized by social movements that are embedded in diverse cultural and political contexts and are denouncing current power mechanisms while reclaiming popular supremacy. The movements we have seen over the last decade display very distinct characteristics but all base their actions on the rich tradition of nonviolence. Indeed, it is precisely because nonviolent struggle assumes multifold forms and is informed by various principles, that it is important to shed light on this social practice; to offer a variety of definitions, approaches, case studies and past implementations of nonviolent actions. The authors of Understanding Nonviolence have undertaken precisely that. Understanding Nonviolence seeks to provide a ‘nuanced overview of the field of nonviolence studies [and to] engage students in critical debates surrounding the study of nonviolent campaigns’ (p. 4). The book consists of eleven chapters, separated by the editors into three distinct parts. The first part provides a rather laconic overview of nonviolence in terms of definitions, historical overview, and the theories of prominent figures such as Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Gene Sharp, and others. It considers common forms of nonviolent action and highlights central debates from the field relating to the choice of nonviolence as a method of confrontation, along with ways of measuring the success of movements that practice nonviolence. Students looking for a clear and well-connected history of the ideas of relevant thinkers and practitioners, as well as a summary of significant nonviolent movements will certainly find this part both invaluable and cohesively written. Yet in order to fully comprehend the chapters that follow a more thorough foundational analysis of social movements, their framing, history, structure, political opportunities, mobilization, branding, and the very theory of nonviolent strategy and planning is imperative. Students with a solid basis in sociological theory, however, will find this textbook – especially the two remaining parts – particularly gratifying. Its contributing authors offer a very dynamic and insightful mixture of innovative theory that is seamlessly coalesced with previously under-explored case studies and movement analysis.