Kenneth Cain

There's a lot of interest in the authors' insider reports from UN peacekeeping missions. The three-way memoir form is intriguing too, although the voices of the three authors aren't especially distinct and they refer to each other too often. Almost everything we learn about these failed states and the UN's failed efforts to help is disheartening, but especially timely as we approach the beginning of a new presidential administration that is more likely to engage in these sorts of joint international humanitarian deployments than in preemptive oil wars.… (mais)

This is a memoir written by three UN workers who met while on assignment in Cambodia. They discuss UN missions there, in Haiti, Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Liberia. Ken is a Harvard law school graduate, Andrew is a medical doctor and Heidi is a social worker turned secretary. This book documents the UN's failures in these missions, as well as their personal fears and, at times, triumphs. I think it makes excellent reading and provides plenty of food for thought.

On a personal note, I enjoyed Heidi's sections most. It was very refreshing for me to read an honest account by a woman that included her need for "emergency sex". However, I fear she came across as more of a "party girl" than a serious aid worker.… (mais)