“With all its defects, with all the failures that we can check up against it, the UN still represents man’s best-organized hope to subs...
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reviews
Aug 11, 2011
Gwilym
rated it: 
This book is recommended for all those interested in international politics and particularly the role of the UN on the world stage. I bought it in conjunction with books considering the failures of the organisation in Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Somalia - Kennedy gives a clear insight as to how and why these operations stumbled taking into account the limits of a charter established over 60 years ago.
Especially interesting for those familiar with Kennedy is how he utilises the "Great Power" More...
Especially interesting for those familiar with Kennedy is how he utilises the "Great Power" More...
Jun 15, 2008
Mike
rated it: 
What a disappointment. Kennedy is a heck of a historian, but he mailed this one in. Instead of new insights or information about the UN, Kennedy just gives us warmed-over potted history and a handful of stale arguments - the same ones repeated over and over and over throughout the book.
More frustrating than anything else is his determination to treat the UN as a coherent institution capable of taking action whenever it does something that he likes, and to switch his attention to the More...
More frustrating than anything else is his determination to treat the UN as a coherent institution capable of taking action whenever it does something that he likes, and to switch his attention to the More...
Dec 14, 2010
Chris
rated it: 
Kennedy's book putatively attempts to explain (with a middling level of detail) the creation and history of the United Nations, along with its concordant and subsidiary bodies and the roles they have played, along with important programs and influential individuals. It also goes into a bit of detail of the public perceptions and reactions to different UN bodies and UN characteristics. Quite a task, and the second reading of this book has enriched my understanding of Kennedy's topical and histori
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Oct 10, 2010
Edward
rated it:
This is an inspiring but flawed look at an inspiring but flawed institution.
Kennedy tries to provide a narrative about an organization rife with paradox and convolutedness. At times, his prose is sloppy and his analysis is somewhat unfocused, but we're willing to forgive him for it because he somehow finds a way to describe the history of a thousand different things happening in a thousand different places.
Overall, Kennedy succeeds at portraying the complexity and importance More...
Kennedy tries to provide a narrative about an organization rife with paradox and convolutedness. At times, his prose is sloppy and his analysis is somewhat unfocused, but we're willing to forgive him for it because he somehow finds a way to describe the history of a thousand different things happening in a thousand different places.
Overall, Kennedy succeeds at portraying the complexity and importance More...
Jun 05, 2007
Joe
rated it:
It's not a bad book, it's just a bit dry and a bit vague. Having worked at the UN, I would say the Kennedy's heart is where that of most reporters' is: the Security Council, which gets the vast bulk of UN coverage. Then the Secretariat. Then, well behind those two, the General Assembly. And way down the list is civil society, NGOs, etc.
Thus, I would recommend checking this book out, reading the intro and the chapter on the history of the Security Council, which is very helpful to rounding More...
Thus, I would recommend checking this book out, reading the intro and the chapter on the history of the Security Council, which is very helpful to rounding More...
Aug 06, 2011
Julian
rated it:
Best introduction to the UN that I have found. Covers the major areas and gives some idea to what is holding the UN from being a really effective institution and states it in a fair way to show that sometimes you don't really want the UN to work, but this comes at the loss of it not working sometimes when we'd rather. Nuanced arguments, it's basic premise is that the UN is two steps forward.
Jan 17, 2010
The Parliament of Man: The Past, Present, and Future of the United Nations by Paul Kennedy (2006)
Jul 05, 2011
Ann
rated it:
I was definitely confused by the alphabet soup paragraphs at first, even having researched the UN. Otherwise, an insightful book.
Jan 03, 2010
Jet
rated it:
A reminder of the idealist I once was, I say. The book hasn't quite hooked me, three chapters on - which I suspect is a result of the very historical narrative of the formation of a world government (or at least a semblance of a world government). Not a book for someone who is already attuned to the history of the UN.
I was rather hoping that the blurb at the back of the book held true "Ultimately he shows why, despite its fallibility and its foibles, the UN remains utterly indi More...
I was rather hoping that the blurb at the back of the book held true "Ultimately he shows why, despite its fallibility and its foibles, the UN remains utterly indi More...
Jan 14, 2008
MSW
rated it:
I like it, the UN has had a colorful/interesting/tragic life so far. Roots + past useful to understand more of UN & why it often fails and sometimes succeeds. Helps better understand current wrangling re Iran, North Korea etc. Well written though maybe not top notch.
Sep 26, 2008
Marc
rated it: 
A brilliantly written book traces the history of the League of Nations and the United Nations. For those pondering: what works, and what doesn't work, in trying to create world peace, this scholarly work provides a lot of answers, and much more to think about.
Dec 16, 2009
Matthew
rated it: 
Okay. I learned more about the UN. The first chapter on how the UN came about and the lessons learned from the League of Nations fiasco was strong. The other chapters on potential reform and current workings were less strong.
Jul 20, 2007
Ben
rated it:
Interesting read about past and present of that eminent boondoggle of a bureaucracy, the UN.
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