Thoroughly exploring the role of the U.N. in world events and the true dimensions of its power, Williams clearly explains the General Assembly and Security Council and examines the leadership of secretary generals. He discusses the World Bank and UNESCO and traces the U.N.'s mediation attempts in long-standing conflicts such as that between the Arabs and the Israelis. Illustrations.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Do you know your UN? Take a look ...,
By Giant Panda (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: United Nations for Beginners (For Beginners S.) (Paperback)
In addition to teaching me new things, "For Beginners" books provide me with sheer reading pleasure, and this book is no exception. Before reading this book I often heard about the United Nations in the news, had some vague conception about what it is and the way it works, but never really understood the scope of its operations, or exactly how it works and why. This book revealed all this to me, and much more. From it, I learned about the history of the UN, it's charter, it's member organizations, the World Bank and IMF, peacekeeping missions, the World Court, UN personalities, ...! The author does a tremendously good job explaining all these things, without making our heads reel from the sheer amount of information. This book contains slightly fewer illustrations that the typical "For Beginner's" book, and is crammed full of text passages, but still is highly readable and humorous. Truly enjoyable!Those of you who enjoyed this book will find a perfect complement in "Arabs and Israel for Beginners", by Ron David, a book that addresses what "The UN for Beginners" considers to be the greatest failure of the UN. I strongly recommend you buy both at the same time.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A wry, humorous look at the U.N., but light on substance,
By A Customer
This review is from: United Nations for Beginners (For Beginners S.) (Paperback)
Williams' romp through the U.N. will make those knowledgeable of the U.N. smile, but therein lies the problem with the book. It is so skimpy on explaination, in fact disjointed in places, that it takes a familiarity with the U.N. to fill in the gaps.The book may indeed be misnamed. As an example of the book's disjointed and even confusing presentation is Williams' explanation of the World Court. No mention is made of its structure or its function. Instead, Williams talks about America's withdrawl from the ICJ without telling us why this happened. His subsequent example of a 1992 Security Council meeting makes no sense and one would have to be familiar with the events himself to make the connections. I think that before one can appreciate the details of examples one needs a little explaination of the ICJ's consent and cumpulsory jurisdictions and the ICJ statute which the Court is based on.
Williams' explanations of the General Assembly and the Security Council are straightforward and clear, and here the examples and stories support his general points.
One looking for a book on the basic workings of the U.N. would do better looking elsewhere.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Do you know your UN? Take a look ...,
By Giant Panda (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: United Nations for Beginners (For Beginners S.) (Paperback)
In addition to teaching me new things, "For Beginners" books provide me with sheer reading pleasure, and this book is no exception. Before reading this book I often heard about the United Nations in the news, had some vague conception about what it is and the way it works, but never really understood the scope of its operations, or exactly how it works and why. This book revealed all this to me, and much more. From it, I learned about the history of the UN, it's charter, it's member organizations, the World Bank and IMF, peacekeeping missions, the World Court, UN personalities, and it's greatest failure: Palestine! The author does a tremendously good job explaining all these things, without making our heads reel from the sheer amount of information. This book contains slightly fewer illustrations that the typical "For Beginner's" book, and is crammed full of text passages, but still is highly readable and humorous. Truly enjoyable!
Those of you who enjoyed this book will find a perfect complement in "Arabs and Israel for Beginners", by Ron David, a book that addresses what "The UN for Beginners" considers to be the greatest failure of the UN. I strongly recommend you buy both at the same time.
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