For Humanity: Reflections of a War Crimes Investigator (Castle Lectures Series) [Hardcover]

Mr. Richard J. Goldstone (Author)

Book Description

Series: Castle Lectures Series | Publication Date: August 11, 2000

Richard J. Goldstone's account of his progression from a young activist opposing South Africa's racial policies to the world's first independent war crimes prosecutor. In it, he argues in favour of the move towards establishing a permanent international criminal court.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The strength of this book lies less in its words than in the experiences of the author Goldstone, a South African who chaired the commission that investigated atrocities committed under apartheid and also chief prosecutor of tribunals in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. In this series of lectures, originally presented at Yale, Goldstone first traces his own rise from liberal student activist to lawyer to justice on one of South Africa's highest courts. During this time, he visited thousands of South African prisoners (who had committed no crime and were detained without trial) and attempted to convince "unsympathetic police officers to adopt a more humane attitude toward the detainees." The bulk of this dryly written book, however, is devoted to his work on the South African commission that bore his name and the two war tribunals. In all three cases he naturally defends the role of international law in holding human rights violators accountable. Goldstone occasionally abandons his generally amiable tone for some criticism of the Clinton administration and former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. But a more critical approach to the war crimes tribunals (which have been accused by others of ineffectiveness) might have better supported his claim that the U.N. has "sent out messages to would-be war criminals that the international community is no longer prepared to be committed without the threat of retribution." Maps. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Justice Richard J. Goldstone is involved in many humanitarian causes. Among his current activities, he is chairperson of the International Independent Inquiry on Kosovo and heads the board of the Human Rights Institute of South Africa.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (August 11, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300082053
• ISBN-13: 978-0300082050
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,359,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prosecuting war crimes: a personal account, October 10, 2000

By 

Tessa Gevint (South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For Humanity: Reflections of a War Crimes Investigator (Castle Lectures Series) (Hardcover)

Richard Goldstone's latest book takes you on a journey, which is not only starkly graphic and honest in its depictions but allows you to be privy to particular times of historical importance, which have been previously hidden from the public eye. Furthermore, Goldstone, in this book, not only concretises the meaning and substance of Humananitarian law BUT elavates it to a higher level, bringing home the message that it can happen again...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The man who authored the UN report on GAZA: Who is he?, October 17, 2009

By 

Kevin James Carolin (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: For Humanity: Reflections of a War Crimes Investigator (Castle Lectures Series) (Hardcover)

The UN fact finding mission on the three week war in Gaza last winter has published it's report.
It is a report that is polarizing many supporters on both sides. Richard Goldstone, a Jew and committed Zionist headed the inquiry. So who is he? What do we make of his report?. There can be no better starting point than to read what he wrote long before the UN inquiry was contemplated. So appropriately he called it "For Humanity".
It is essentially a bringing together of three lectures delivered at Yale university
It chronicles his experiences as head of the Goldstone commission, and unintentionally his role in establishing the truth behind "third force" activities in the lead up to 1994 democratic elections in South Africa.
The commission was appointed by De Klerk the last apartheid president. Forty enquiries later its work was done and arch enemies, although exposed had come to understand the meaning and merits of an impartial inquiry.
The impartiality continued and the respect for it became international. His next experiences were as investigator/ prosecutor for UN Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
Since reading this I have reread the "Gaza report" and it reads very differently second time around. It's recommendations deserve serious consideration. Richard Goldstone cautions in FOR HUMANITY: "...when nations ignore victims' calls for justice, they are condemning their people to the terrible consequences of ongoing hatred and revenge".
The author lists three lessons to be learned from the UN War Crimes Tribunal. The second of these is simply:For a political body such as the Security Council to have the power to decide where humanitarian law will or will not be enforced, is unacceptable.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lazy Book, February 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: For Humanity: Reflections of a War Crimes Investigator (Castle Lectures Series) (Hardcover)

Goldstone is a skillful lawyer and a dedicated human rights activist. He played a central role in South Africa's transition to democracy and in the purusit of justice in the former Yugoslavia. He has a sharp eye for bureaucratic absurdity (especially in the UN). He knows world leaders and could have written a fascinating "inside" history. Instead, he produced this short, lightweight book comprised of little more than anecdotes and name-dropping. It's incredible that Yale University Press saw fit to publish it. We can only hope that Goldstone will turn to writing a serious autobiography after he steps down from the South African Constitutional Court.