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

by Mr. Richard J. Goldstone (Author) "After serving twenty-seven years of a life term for high treason, Nelson Mandela was released from prison on Sunday, 11 February 1990..." (more)
Key Phrases: ejectment order, chief prosecutor, international criminal court, United Nations, South Africa, United States (more...)

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.

Product Description
In this stirring book Richard J. Goldstone chronicles his progression from a youthful activist opposing South Africa's racial policies to the world's first independent war crimes' prosecutor. A justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Goldstone has also served as chief prosecutor for United Nations tribunals on human rights crimes in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. His unique firsthand experience investigating these crimes gives profound weight to his plea for a permanent international criminal court. The Castle Lectures in Ethics, Politics, and Economics

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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 (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #937,276 in Books (See Bestsellers 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

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...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recanting an Earlier Review , July 24, 2005

By	Reader (Arlington, Virginia) - See all my reviews

I wrote the review of "For Humanity" immediately below ("Lazy Book"). Even though my review was negative, I recently reread Goldstone's book after hearing him speak at a conference in Washington. His intelligence and decency must have made an impression on me, because I enjoyed "For Humanity" a lot more the second time.

I stand by my original assertion that the book is slight and unworthy of a jurist of Goldstone's stature; his failure, for example, to analyze the cases he prosecuted in Bosnia is inexplicable, given the sub-title of the book. In the end, however, I'm giving the book two extra stars just because it was written by Goldstone. He is a courageous, decent man who did the right thing at a time when many white South Africans evaded politics and took refuge in lives of privilege. In addition, his anecdotes are pretty good, especially those at the expense of UN bureaucrats.

So...people should read his book, but they shouldn't have any illusions about what they'll find. Goldstone provides little historical context about the end of apartheid or the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Anyone looking for that history should look elsewhere. However, those who already know the basic story (I used to live in South Africa) may enjoy his book. It's a good read and can be polished off in three or four hours. Now, if Goldstone would just write a serious autobiography about his amazing career in law, human rights advocacy, and diplomacy, he'd get five star reviews!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.