The Little Book of Restorative Justice by Howard Zehr is a concise overview of restorative justice. This 64-page book proposes workable principles and practices for making restorative justice both possible and useful. Zehr, known worldwide for his pioneering work in transforming our understandings of justice, is co-director of the graduate Conflict Transformation Program at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA.

Concerned with the rapid and diverse growth of the restorative justice movement, Zehr wrote this book to provide a clear vision of principles and goals—a compass to find the way along a path that might sometimes become winding and muddy. Accordingly, he expresses well-defined opinions about what restorative justice is, as well as about what restorative justice is not.

“The Little Book of Restorative Justice is for those who have heard the term and are curious about what it implies and for those who are involved in the field but are becoming unclear or losing track of what they are trying to do. I hope to help bring clarity about where the restorative justice ‘train’ is heading and, in some cases, to nudge the train back onto the track.”