"Small Steps Toward the Missing Peace" chronicles the author's journey as a Mennonite peace activist, college teacher, and historian. The book traces Juhnke's story from his early moral formation in a Mennonite community in Kansas to writing the book that crowned his career, "The Missing Peace: The Search for Nonviolent Alternatives in United States History. (2001)"
The central theme of Small Steps is the tension between Christian pacifism and American militarism. Juhnke tells about the people and events that shaped his understanding of America in the light of Christian ideals in his youth, academic preparation, overseas experiences (Germany, Botswana, China), college teaching, and political involvements. The memoir culminates with the publication and reception of "The Missing Peace." That book, co-authored with Carol Hunter, is a revisionist interpretation of main themes in United States history from the viewpoint of peace values.