Defeat of an Ideal: A Study of the Self-Destruction of the United Nations

by Shirley Hazzard

STUDY OF THE SELF-DESTRUCTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS. A history of the United Nations Organization centered on the increasingly paralyzed, the hitherto un-apprised, international secretariat.

286 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Shirley Hazzard was born in Australia, and as a child travelled the world due to her parents’ diplomatic postings. At age 16, she began working for British Combined Intelligence Services in Hong Kong, monitoring civil war in China. After her family moved to New York City, she worked for several years as a typist at the United Nations Secretariat in New York.

After leaving this post, she became a full-time writer and a passionate opponent of the United Nations, the subject of several of her nonfiction books.

Known for elegant and controlled writing, Hazzard’s works of fiction include five novels. Her last novel, The Great Fire, was shortlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize for Fiction and the 2005 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.