Customer Reviews

Basic Facts about the United Nations

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The chief cause of opposition to the United Nations is lack of knowledge about what it is, what it does, what it can do and what it cannot do. If I were to pick one volume to help both supporters and critics understand what the United Nations is, this book would be it.

This is a fairly quick read that covers the major details of the UN. It talks about hot it was founded, the departments, major policy changes and decisions, and the role it took in world affairs before the new millennium. It does feel a bit dated at this point, as it was written pre 9-11 and has not been updated. Still, it is a useful introduction to the UN and worth a read if that topic interests you and you have little to no other exposure. Not recommended for anyone already a student of International Relations. The key word in the title is "Basic."

Detailed books with precise well written information. A must have for who's interested.

For a student of international relations as I do, this book is very good. It is very comprehensive and allows a good understanding about the UN.

The title of this book is very accurate. If you buy it you will learn just a few basic things about the UN, and its various departments and that's pretty much it...

I received the book in good condition and far ahead of delivery schedule. I was really impressed on how soon the book was delivered.

The UN founded after the end of WWII is the most important global organization, with fifty-one members in 1945, formed to protect and promote national interests. It had grown to 185 members in 1999. Others like OPEC, NAFTA, NATO, UNESCO, sprang from the original United Nations.

UN's purpose was to promote international peach, security and cooperation among states (as the colonies in Africa, South Africa, other small countried reached state status) and to protect human rights.

Cordell Hull from Tennessee was the pivotal person in charge, wtih Alger Hill close behind. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt played a major role representing her husband; Gladys Irwin also was a delegate while her husband was a federal judge. I knew there was a Cordell Hull Dam near Nashville, but she showed her pride in working with "your" Cordell Hull. At CWU meetings, she told all newcomers how much it meant to her.

Based in New York City, the headquarters are something to see. It is taller than the World Trade Center was. Except for Switzerland, all states on Earth are members of the UN Interpol, the Inernational Criminal Police Organization. It is truly a globel membership, thanks to the iniative and hard work of Mrs. Roosevelt. Stephen Schlesinger worked at the U. N. in the mid-1990s and relates in his book, "Act of Creation," that Franklin D. Roosevelt had the desire to become the Secretary-General of the UN and would have resigned his presidency to do so at the San Francisco Conference. On April 12, just 13 days before the Conference, FDR died. It fell to Harry Truman to address the UN Conference on opening day.

Alger Hiss was the acting SG and shared the platform with Earl Warren, then Governor of California. The four freedoms espoused were from want and fear, of speech and worship. Archibald MacLeish served as advisor to the U.S. delegation. He and his aide, Adlai Stevenson, dispensed information about UN in radio broadcasts, speeches, forums and meetings (also lectures for NBC radio). Stevenson, from Chicago, was the grandson of Grover Cleveland's Vice President and worked in the State Department. Later, he would run for the President of the United States.

The UN replaced the League of Nations. Roosevelt convinced Winston Churchill the name should be "United Nations." The UN Declaration was signed by representatives from twenty-six nations. The SG had more power than the League whcih was mostly clerical and administrative. He had to be a linguist to speak the language of the various nations.

One of the best known Secretary Generals was the legenday Dag Hammamskjold from Sweden who served from 1953-1961. In Linda Fasulo's "An Insider's Guide to the UN" is a photo of Eleanor Roosevelt holding the Universal Declaration of Rights poster in November, 1949, which was replaced later by the Universal Declaration's International Bill of Rights. Dag Hammarskjold died in a plane crash and a beautiful stained glass window by Marc Chagall is at the UN in his memory. At the headquarters in Manhattan, flags of all the members fly from 48th Street to 42nd (191 arranged alphabetically like a grand boulevard).

For twenty years, the unwritten agreement had been tha tthe SG should rotate among regions of the world. Seven have served: Norway, Sweden, Burma, Austria, Peru, Egypt, and Ghana. Fasulo was UN corrospondent and had a weekly NPR report. She explores the founding of UNESCO (UN Educational, Scienfitic, and Cultural Organization) a failure because of favoritism, nepotism, corruption and poor management, like Knox County government's appointing twelve commissioners instead of a special election. On the other side, UNICEF (UN Children's Fund) has lasted and served its purpose successfully. Bureaucracy abounds as in any organization, but the peacekeeping operations supersede all criticism. Different cultures, different opinions. What is good for some is bad for others. You can't please all the people all the time. It's good to remember that manners reflect one's self.