A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [Paperback]

Mary Ann Glendon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0375760466 | ISBN-13: 978-0375760464 | Publication Date: June 11, 2002 | Edition: 1st

Unafraid to speak her mind and famously tenacious in her convictions, Eleanor Roosevelt was still mourning the death of FDR when she was asked by President Truman to lead a controversial commission, under the auspices of the newly formed United Nations, to forge the world’s first international bill of rights.

A World Made New is the dramatic and inspiring story of the remarkable group of men and women from around the world who participated in this historic achievement and gave us the founding document of the modern human rights movement. Spurred on by the horrors of the Second World War and working against the clock in the brief window of hope between the armistice and the Cold War, they grappled together to articulate a new vision of the rights that every man and woman in every country around the world should share, regardless of their culture or religion.

A landmark work of narrative history based in part on diaries and letters to which Mary Ann Glendon, an award-winning professor of law at Harvard University, was given exclusive access, A World Made New is the first book devoted to this crucial turning point in Eleanor Roosevelt’s life, and in world history.


Finalist for the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1947, in a world recently ripped apart by the Holocaust, a devastating war and mass displacement, the very idea of a Universal Declaration of Human Rights seemed both impossible and supremely necessary. As the specter of the Cold War loomed, a U.N. delegation, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, began writing what would become the world's first standard statement of human rights. Glendon, a professor of law at Harvard University, has written a compelling, at times thrilling account of how Roosevelt and her cohorts argued and cajoled one another through a series of intellectual, political and moral positions, finally hammering out a statement that was acceptable across national, religious and philosophical lines. While Glendon successfully traces the evolution of the documentAwhich was ratified on December 10, 1948, after six drafts and much debate by the U.N. General AssemblyAshe also presents a richly textured portrait of a woman driven to public service while simultaneously grieving for her late husband. Roosevelt's politics were also at issue: at one point, she resigned from the U.N. over the U.S. government's initial disapproval of the creation of Israel. Glendon concludes with a legal analysis of the declaration and a lengthy discussion of its applicability today, when many non-Western nations (such as China) claim that the concept of "universal" human rights precepts precludes an acceptance of cultural differences. Glendon's work is a welcome addition to the realm of international law and to the growing body of literature on Eleanor Roosevelt's role in modern politics. Agents, Lynn Chu and Glen Hartley, Writer's Representatives.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

When it was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the first formal statement of what the phrase human rights actually entailed. Glendon (law, Harvard) has written a legislative history of the Declaration covering both the negotiation process and the ratification debates and process during the years 1946-52. The book is based on extensive access to the diaries and unpublished memoirs of many of the participants as they worked with the horrors of World War II fresh in their minds and against the backdrop of the rapidly chilling Cold War. While the content and phrasing of the Declaration are the product of the many fine minds and strong personalities who worked on it, Eleanor Roosevelt is here given full credit for facilitating the process and steering the group to a final agreement that incorporated the best from many cultural and religious traditions. Recommended for academic libraries and broad Roosevelt collections.DMarcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; 1st edition (June 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375760466
• ISBN-13: 978-0375760464
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( R ) > Roosevelt, Eleanor
  • #54 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Current Events > Civil Rights & Liberties

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Thoughtful Remeberance, March 1, 2001

By 

andrew michels (Santa Monica, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Hardcover)

Professor Glendon vividly and lucidly elaborates the people and events whose obscure work yielded perhaps the single most important document of the second half of the 20th Century.

For those of us who are privileged to live under the blanket of freedom, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights might not be understood to be the beacon of hope and freedom that is has become to many millions around the world who live in conditions of extraordinary disadvantage. This book is a gift in that it provides with a detailed narrative of the places, people, and events which conspired to deliver the UDHR at a moment in history when it was so desperately needed.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lost Leadership, April 8, 2009

By 

Reader (Arlington, Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Paperback)

"A World Made New" isn't really about Eleanor Roosevelt, though she does have a big part in the story. Instead, the book chronicles the diplomacy that led to the 1948 adoption of the world's cornerstone human rights document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The book also analyses the Declaration's role in shaping a global "rights consciousness" that has slowly but surely had a big impact on international politics and state behavior. The writing is crisp, the story fascinating, and the legal explanations crystal-clear. It's a nifty, intelligent book.

The author is a Harvard law prof who wants to teach us how to think about human rights in the modern world. She has two key messages. First, criticism that the whole notion of human rights reflects a "Western bias" is misguided; countries from around the world negotiated the Declaration, and every major rights tradition is reflected in the text. Second, the range of rights embraced by the Declaration far exceeds traditional Anglo-American notions of limited government and individual freedoms; instead, the Declaration is built on concepts of human dignity and flourishing that cannot be realized without education, health care, workplace justice, and other social protections.

Editorial Comment: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has influenced constitutions and human rights laws all over the world, from South Africa and post-war Europe to emerging democracies in Latin America and the former USSR. However, it is almost unknown in the United States, despite our decisive role in its creation. Of course, Americans don't know their own Constitution, either. Given the low level of legal/rights literacy in America, it's no wonder that global human rights leadership has largely passed to other countries. A people who can't be roused by the disclosure of White House-sanctioned torture camps has no capacity to lead others on these issues.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, September 29, 2008

By 

Melanie (La Jolla, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Paperback)

This is a fascinating book on the formation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from a historical, political, as well as ethical perspective, and very well written. It shows the involvement of individuals from many countries, western and non-western, in the formation of this document and refutes the idea that "human rights" is strictly a western concept. I was in awe of Eleanor Roosevelt after reading the account of her multinational efforts, but also inspired by these other leaders who also made significant contributions to it's formation but who are now unknown to most.