Landmines And Unexploded Ordnance: A Resource Book [Hardcover]

Rae McGrath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0745312640 | ISBN-13: 978-0745312644

Written by a Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate who is one of the leading voices in the anti-landmines campaign, this timely book is a comprehensive, practical guide to landmines and unexploded ordnance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘If the scourge of landmines is ever eradicated, much of the credit must go to Rae McGrath; and this meticulous principled book reminds us why.’ --John Pilger

 

‘Landmines and unexploded ordnance continue to kill, maim and impoverish innocent civilians in many of the world's poorest countries. Rae McGrath's authoritative book is an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to understand the impact of these persistent killers, and how best to respond to them.’ --Richard Lloyd, UK Working Group on Landmines

About the Author

Rae McGrath is a Nobel Peace Prize Co-laureate as a co-founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. He was instrumental in the establishment of the first wide-scale United Nations mine clearance operations in Afghanistan, is the founder and former director of the international demining NGO Mines Advisory Group, and has worked in many of the worst mine-affected countries in the world. He currently works as an independent advisor to donors, operational and campaigning agencies and lectures widely on post-conflict issues.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Pluto Press (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745312640
• ISBN-13: 978-0745312644
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,770,572 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Landmines and UXO's and How to Get Rid of Them, October 22, 2010

By 

Bomb Man58 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Landmines And Unexploded Ordnance: A Resource Book (Paperback)

Former Royal Engineer and later Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate, Rae McGrath has written an insightful and very informative work on the work of humanitarian landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance operations.Landmines and UXO's are the explosive residue of conflict and their continued presence is a very debilitating impact on humanity. Currently landmines and UXOs affect the populations of over 70 countries in the world and since the introduction of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, or Ottawa Treaty, in 1997, a number of organisations have been working in cooperation with the United Nations Mine Action Service to assist in ridding the world of this contamination.

Using his extensive personal experiences from his time as Director of the UK NGO 'Mines Advisory Group', the author takes the reader through the background of anti-personnel landmines and UXO's and their effects upon civilians in the aftermath of conflicts from around the world. MAG was one of the first International NGOs to tackle the landmine and UXO problem, commencing work in Afghanistan in 1989 and has since expanded its operations into over 30 countries. The experience of the author is transmitted through dedicated chapters on introducing the landmine and UXO threat; how minefields and dangerous areas, which contain no markings or indicators something dangerous is there, are determined and subsequently cleared. Other chapters examine how a national mine action programme is developed.

I enjoyed this book because it is written in an easy-to-read style that will appeal to any reader; the book is not full of technical jargon that tends to mystify those who are not familiar with the work. The author also writes in a very pragmatic style and pulls no punches in his descriptions of some of the early stumblings of organisations as landmine clearance operations and procedures were developed; together with the development of policy regarding landmines and UXOs. The 'no-nonsense' style of this book is very appealing.

In summary an extremely well written and researched work on the early devlopment of landmine and UXO clearance operations and how the humanitarian work of the organisations involved in this dangerous work has developed since its early interventions 21 years ago. This book was written in 2000 and while a great deal of it is still very relevant, I would look forward to the author revisiting it at some stage to capture the second decade of achievements. Well done, Rae McGrath!