Kofi Annan, the UN's seventh Secretary-General, recognized that engaging broader constituencies was critical to fulfilling the organization's mission. As part of this initiative, he established a public lecture series on cutting-edge topics in the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and the arts. The Brilliant Art of Peace presents these lectures, delivered by seventeen of the world's most eminent thinkers, including several Nobel laureates. The reader will find humor, moral rigor, and wit in this thought-provoking book.