Interventions: A Life in War and Peace

A detailed analysis of UN system. Things which are not in public domain. It good to know how international politics works.

Kofi Annan has tried to give his best shot at educating us about the roadblocks it had encountered in various wars & peace keeping missions. We tend to keep reading in news papers about what is UN's reaction on various global events. But, if one wants to know the effort put by UN team, this is the book. I would recommend this book as one of the repository to keep track of Global events.

Having an insight into the mind of a former UN secretary general in terms of dealing with crucial issues which poses significant threats and challenges to the world is what this book delivers. I am so glad to own a copy. Thanks Amazon

Kofi Annan had been the Secretary general of the United Nations for two terms. His term had seen one of the most tumultuous times in the United Nations where the very existence of the UN came into question. The Iraq war happened at his tenure. Iraq war indirectly ultimately proved to be the reason for him not getting selected for another term. Interventions deal with his many efforts to bring peace either via diplomatic interventions or via military interventions. The book will give you a further insight into his efforts to stop the Iraq War, to maintain the relevance of the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations in general as well. The book also shows you the life of a diplomat in general. The challenges that they face, the way that they deal with various countries, terrorist organizations, civil war in general. The efforts that it undertakes to make a lethargic and complex UN to act against a common organization. The subtleties of diplomacy. The various face of a diplomat. It also gives you an insight into certain issues that plagued the UN at his time. In a nutshell, it’s a great book if you are interested in diplomacy/United Nations/International Politics/.

A very well written book. Gives an inside view of why the UN doesn't work as well as it might and what needs to be done about the situation. Well worth a read.

Written by one of the active global leader with a selfless vision and effort to make the world a better place . I recommend it to readers who like to know the challenges faced by and facing UN in its effort to play the role of peace-building, conflict resolution and promotion of socioeconomic development in its strive to mitigate poverty , conflicts and security challenges among other issues. It also good for readers of I R , Political Science or International organizations, otherwise the book is suitable for multidisciplinary purposes making it a good food for thought to all readers. a among the best books i had ever bought.

+ Viele interessante Details über die einzelnen Handlungen der UN + Kein besonders schweres Englisch + Kofi Annan trennt seine pernönliche Meinung klar von den Fakten + teils äußert er offen Kritik, teils auch indirekt (er spricht hierbei sehr sensible Themen an) + Buch hat gute Optik und Haptik - Stark verschachtelte Sätze stören Fazit: All in all it's only for people who are interested in the whole topic of international politics and especially human rights.

I have rarely read a book more eloquently written while being highly accessible at the same time. By giving us the opportunity to look at the recent history of wars and carefully brokered peace deals from inside the UN, I finally understand what I failed to grasp when atrocities were happening. It's one of those insightful books that are hard to put down. Former Secretary General Kofi Annan sheds light on the workings of the UN, especially the Security Council and the Peace Keeping Operations, without trying to conceal the failings. His candid way of explaining how and why peace operations failed, shows what a great and intelligent man he is. I feel privileged to have read his memoir; without this book I would have never understood how 800.000 people could die in Rwanda without us being able to prevent it, or how the world could abandon Somalia. He explains history we all have been part of. His book should be a must-read for AP history students and is highly recommended for all who want to understand recent wars from the inside. At the same time it's also a very informative read for those who otherwise aren't interested in the day to day activities of the UN. By reading this book your eyes are being opened. I'm highlighting sentences while reading this book; there is so much I want to fully understand and remember. I highly recommend this book!

Annan's book is like reading the news reports of all the top events since 1997 with the editorial leader written by someone in the know as opposed to a journalist. This is the detail you don't get in the news, and although it is one man's version of his tenure at the UN, it's a gripping version of world events over the past two decades. Can't put it down.