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A Life in War and Peace
Penguin Press
September 2012
On Sale: September 4, 2012
512 pages
ISBN: 1594204209
EAN: 9781594204203
Kindle: B007T8RJNM
Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction Biography
Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2001, United
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke to a world still
reeling from the terrorist attacks of September 11. “Ladies
and Gentlemen,” proclaimed Annan, “we have entered the third
millennium through a gate of fire. If today, after the
horror of 11 September, we see better, and we see further—we
will realize that humanity is indivisible. New threats make
no distinction between races, nations, or regions.” Yet
within only a few years the world was more divided than
ever—polarized by the American invasion of Iraq, the
Arab-Israeli conflict, the escalating civil wars in Africa,
and the rising influence of China. Interventions: A Life in War and Peace is the story of
Annan’s remarkable time at the center of the world stage.
After forty years of service at the United Nations, Annan
shares here his unique experiences during the terrorist
attacks of September 11; the American invasions of Iraq and
Afghanistan; the war between Israel, Hizbollah, and Lebanon;
the brutal conflicts of Somalia, Rwanda, and Bosnia; and the
geopolitical transformations following the end of the Cold
War. With eloquence and unprecedented candor, Interventions
finally reveals Annan’s unique role and unparalleled
perspective on decades of global politics. The first sub-Saharan African to hold the position of
Secretary-General, Annan has led an extraordinary life in
his own right. His idealism and personal politics were
forged in the Ghanaian independence movement of his
adolescence, when all of Africa seemed to be rising as one
to demand self-determination. Schooled in Africa, Europe,
and the United States, Annan ultimately joined the United
Nations in Geneva at the lowest professional level in the
still young organization. Annan rose rapidly through the
ranks and was by the end of the Cold War prominently placed
in the dramatically changing department of peacekeeping
operations. His stories of Presidents Clinton and Bush,
dictators like Saddam Hussein and Robert Mugabe, and public
figures of all stripes contrast powerfully with Annan’s
descriptions of the courage and decency of ordinary people
everywhere struggling for a new and better world. Showing the successes of the United Nations, Annan also
reveals the organization’s missed opportunities and ongoing
challenges—inaction in the Rwanda genocide, continuing
violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and the
endurance of endemic poverty. Yet Annan’s great strength in
this book is his ability to embed these tragedies within the
context of global politics, demonstrating how, time and
again, the nations of the world have retreated from the UN’s
founding purpose. From the pinnacle of global politics,
Annan made it his purpose to put the individual at the
center of every mission for peace and prosperity. A personal biography of global statecraft, Annan’s
Interventions is as much a memoir as a guide to world
order—past, present, and future.
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