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Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World
A new history of the turbulent 1960s told through the life of U Thant, the first UN secretary-general of color, whose decisions once shaped global war and peace.
In the early 1960s, a peaceful world was an imaginable goal. The still-young United Nations was widely respected and regarded as humankind’s best hope for resolving global conflicts. African and Asian nations, having recently won their freedom from colonial domination, sought dignity and influence on the world stage. At the helm of their international efforts was U Thant, a practicing Buddhist from a remote town in Burma who, as the UN’s first non-Western secretary-general, became the Cold War era’s preeminent ambassador of peace.
From the moment of his predecessor’s mysterious death in 1961, Thant faced a deluge of violent conflicts in Congo, Yemen, Cyprus, and Nigeria, as well as one between India and Pakistan, that threatened larger conflagrations.
Crucially, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, he played an indispensable role―virtually hidden until now―in defusing tensions and helping both superpowers find a way back from nuclear confrontation. For years Thant also challenged Washington over its war in Vietnam, identifying paths to peace that could have saved the lives of millions.
Drawing on newly declassified documents, Thant’s grandson, historian Thant Myint-U, gives a riveting account of how his grandfather’s gentle yet willful disposition shaped his determination to avoid a third world war, give voice to the newly decolonized world, create a fairer international economy, and safeguard the environment. Rather than a vestige of an idealistic past, U Thant’s fight for peace is central to a fresh understanding of our world today.
In the early 1960s, a peaceful world was an imaginable goal. The still-young United Nations was widely respected and regarded as humankind’s best hope for resolving global conflicts. African and Asian nations, having recently won their freedom from colonial domination, sought dignity and influence on the world stage. At the helm of their international efforts was U Thant, a practicing Buddhist from a remote town in Burma who, as the UN’s first non-Western secretary-general, became the Cold War era’s preeminent ambassador of peace.
From the moment of his predecessor’s mysterious death in 1961, Thant faced a deluge of violent conflicts in Congo, Yemen, Cyprus, and Nigeria, as well as one between India and Pakistan, that threatened larger conflagrations.
Crucially, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, he played an indispensable role―virtually hidden until now―in defusing tensions and helping both superpowers find a way back from nuclear confrontation. For years Thant also challenged Washington over its war in Vietnam, identifying paths to peace that could have saved the lives of millions.
Drawing on newly declassified documents, Thant’s grandson, historian Thant Myint-U, gives a riveting account of how his grandfather’s gentle yet willful disposition shaped his determination to avoid a third world war, give voice to the newly decolonized world, create a fairer international economy, and safeguard the environment. Rather than a vestige of an idealistic past, U Thant’s fight for peace is central to a fresh understanding of our world today.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published September 9, 2025
33 people are currently reading
2721 people want to read
About the author
Thant Myint-U
10 books195 followersThant Myint-U was educated at Harvard and Cambridge University and later taught history for several years as a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He has also served on three United Nations peacekeeping operations, in Cambodia and the former Yugoslavia, as well as with the United Nations Secretariat in New York. He is the author of a personal history of Burma, The River of Lost Footsteps.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 1, 2025
An accessible and compelling deep dive into U Thant’s extraordinary legacy. For those, like me, who are unfamiliar with his work, the book provides useful contextual information to grasp the daunting and critical role he assumed as UN Secretary-General. Though a complete solution for world peace eluded him, his noble quest to keep trying, despite the obstacles, was worthwhile.
Learning about the [often intentional] erasure of his legacy was heartwrenching.
Beyond the global politics, which were weighty, as a New Yorker, I was especially dismayed by the shameful lack of hospitality shown to Thant and other Afro-Asian UN members.. This necessary confrontation with a less-than-proud chapter of our history adds an uncomfortable backdrop, setting the local scene for his decision-making and peacekeeping efforts. Otherwise, where appropriate, I was impressed by how seamlessly author Thant Myint-U managed to intersperse some splashes of levity amongst some heavier content.
Learning about the [often intentional] erasure of his legacy was heartwrenching.
Beyond the global politics, which were weighty, as a New Yorker, I was especially dismayed by the shameful lack of hospitality shown to Thant and other Afro-Asian UN members.. This necessary confrontation with a less-than-proud chapter of our history adds an uncomfortable backdrop, setting the local scene for his decision-making and peacekeeping efforts. Otherwise, where appropriate, I was impressed by how seamlessly author Thant Myint-U managed to intersperse some splashes of levity amongst some heavier content.
December 27, 2025
A magisterial book, which is beautifully written with many a lesson for today’s world. I could hardly put it down.
October 16, 2025
An informative and eye-opening account of U Thant, the often-forgotten Burmese UN Secretary-General whose quiet diplomacy helped steer the world through some of the most dangerous crises of the 20th century. The book uncovers the untold history of a man erased from much of Western memory simply because he was not one of them—his name airbrushed despite his eloquent handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis and his relentless pursuit of peace during one of history’s bleakest periods.
Thant Myint-U exposes how U.S. politicians, media, and even Israel acted with belligerence and arrogance on the world stage in the 1960s, often choosing aggression over dialogue and escalation over understanding, while U Thant embodied statesmanship. Both deeply researched and morally resonant, the book restores U Thant’s rightful place in history as a genuine peacemaker amid an age of war-mongers.
Thant Myint-U exposes how U.S. politicians, media, and even Israel acted with belligerence and arrogance on the world stage in the 1960s, often choosing aggression over dialogue and escalation over understanding, while U Thant embodied statesmanship. Both deeply researched and morally resonant, the book restores U Thant’s rightful place in history as a genuine peacemaker amid an age of war-mongers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2025
An excellent account of U Thant’s tenure as UN secretary general during the 1960’s and early 1970’s at a time of unprecedented global upheaval. U Thant’s story as a provincial school teacher to civil servant and the top role at the UN is extraordinary and his elevation as the compromise candidate demanded by the newly independent African and Asian nations has been largely airbrushed from history. His grandson, and acclaimed historian, Thant Myint U has done a great job of making his role visible again and crediting him for his part in resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis and in avoiding catastrophic conflicts during this period. Highly recommended.
January 1, 2026
The first finished book of the year! It was fascinating to see one of the forgotten Myanmar hero’s 10 years journey as the secretary general at the international organization (the UN) during the turbulent time of the world’s history. How he navigated, and how he led the world to guide to where we are today. Such a fascinating read and am in awe!
October 4, 2025
*well-written and easy to read
*powerful novel
*kept my interest from cover to cover
*highly recommend
*powerful novel
*kept my interest from cover to cover
*highly recommend
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October 21, 2025Over the past two decades, historians have worked to recapture the spirit of ‘Third World’ internationalism that burnt brightly in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. This was an era of decolonisation, as colonies across Asia and Africa won independence and transitioned into new nation-states. It was also the era of nation-building and development initiatives, the Non-Aligned Movement, the New International Economic Order, and – real and imagined – solidarity across the ‘Third World’ (a term first used by the French historian Alfred Sauvy in 1952).
Scholars revisiting these years have often focused on the promise and optimism inherent in the Asian-African Bandung Conference of 1955, the peak of ‘Pan-Arabism’ with Egypt’s seizure of the Suez Canal in 1956 and the short-lived union with Syria under the United Arab Republic in 1958-60, and the apogee of ‘Pan-Africanism’ with Ghana’s independence in 1957 and the formation of the Organization of African Unity in 1963. New studies have appeared on Nasser and Nkrumah, Che Guevara and Cuban support for liberation movements in Africa, Algeria as a haven for the Black Panthers, and the attractive power of Third World struggles for left-wing intellectuals in Europe and North America. Thant Myint-U’s Peacemaker offers another, more sobering, vantage point for reconsidering this period and its historical significance. The book provides an up-close and (quite literally) personal account of the decade-long tenure of Burmese diplomat U Thant as secretary of the United Nations over 1961-71. Thant Myint-U is U Thant’s grandson, and a former UN diplomat himself; Peacemaker offers an intimate, empathetic, and mournfully nostalgic perspective on Thant’s years in office. Those years were tumultuous: the book traces Thant’s efforts to broker peace deals amid conflicts as varied as the civil wars in Congo and Nigeria, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, the Bangladesh Liberation War and subsequent Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and deepening US military intervention in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
Read the rest of the review at https://www.historytoday.com/archive/...
John Sidel is Sir Patrick Gillam Chair in International and Comparative Politics at LSE.
Scholars revisiting these years have often focused on the promise and optimism inherent in the Asian-African Bandung Conference of 1955, the peak of ‘Pan-Arabism’ with Egypt’s seizure of the Suez Canal in 1956 and the short-lived union with Syria under the United Arab Republic in 1958-60, and the apogee of ‘Pan-Africanism’ with Ghana’s independence in 1957 and the formation of the Organization of African Unity in 1963. New studies have appeared on Nasser and Nkrumah, Che Guevara and Cuban support for liberation movements in Africa, Algeria as a haven for the Black Panthers, and the attractive power of Third World struggles for left-wing intellectuals in Europe and North America. Thant Myint-U’s Peacemaker offers another, more sobering, vantage point for reconsidering this period and its historical significance. The book provides an up-close and (quite literally) personal account of the decade-long tenure of Burmese diplomat U Thant as secretary of the United Nations over 1961-71. Thant Myint-U is U Thant’s grandson, and a former UN diplomat himself; Peacemaker offers an intimate, empathetic, and mournfully nostalgic perspective on Thant’s years in office. Those years were tumultuous: the book traces Thant’s efforts to broker peace deals amid conflicts as varied as the civil wars in Congo and Nigeria, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, the Bangladesh Liberation War and subsequent Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and deepening US military intervention in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
Read the rest of the review at https://www.historytoday.com/archive/...
John Sidel is Sir Patrick Gillam Chair in International and Comparative Politics at LSE.
November 23, 2025
This is the kind of book that I would recommend every single person to read, no matter what age or discipline.
There is something for everyone in this historical account of the UN Secretary General U Thant who led the global organization during times of extreme crisis and uncertainty from the 60-70s. This is a story that reminds us of the meaning of hope and believing in the goodness of others, which in turn makes us do our best in giving back to the world that has given us so much.
There is something for everyone in this historical account of the UN Secretary General U Thant who led the global organization during times of extreme crisis and uncertainty from the 60-70s. This is a story that reminds us of the meaning of hope and believing in the goodness of others, which in turn makes us do our best in giving back to the world that has given us so much.
November 18, 2025
A portrait of a bygone era of international cooperation and optimism, Thant Myint-U's latest shines a light on the unfortunately forgotten role of his grandfather as UN Secretary General, and the unfortunately brief peak of UN influence in the post WWII era. I would have loved to have more time spent on U-Thant's modest early life, but the book is nonetheless a great read for anyone interested in international relations.
August 19, 2025
Loved this Book! THANK YOU GOODREADS!
January 17, 2026
Full review on my blog: “The Peacemaker's Lost World | Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World, by Thant Myint-U” – https://tejasrao.net/2026/01/17/the-p...
History, at its best, arrives not through timelines but through lives. Thant Myint-U's Peacemaker places U Thant – Burmese schoolteacher turned UN Secretary-General – at the heart of the 1960s' defining crises: Congo, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, the Six-Day War. The result is a narrative so compelling it reads like a novel, backed by rigorous archival work that reconfigures the Cold War's shadow lines.
For a Model UN veteran like me – who learned diplomacy drafting resolutions in school auditoriums – this book is revelatory. Thant's UN had agency: cabling Kennedy and Khrushchev during the Missile Crisis, proposing Vietnam off-ramps that might have saved millions, championing post-colonial demands for economic justice. Myint-U's prose is crisp, cinematic; the footnotes attest to deep research without weighing down the pace.
What elevates it is excavating a forgotten internationalism. Thant embodied "Third World" ambition – decrying apartheid, pushing environmental safeguards early, insisting decolonisation meant economic sovereignty. His erasure by Western capitals (over Vietnam critiques, even-handedness on Israel) is a sobering lesson in whose stories endure.
Not hagiography: Myint-U notes flaws like excessive reserve. But the portrait is warm, measured – history through biography, as I was taught in school. Five stars: educational, narratively electric, urgent for our fractured multilateral moment. Highly recommended if you care about the UN's unrealised promise
History, at its best, arrives not through timelines but through lives. Thant Myint-U's Peacemaker places U Thant – Burmese schoolteacher turned UN Secretary-General – at the heart of the 1960s' defining crises: Congo, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, the Six-Day War. The result is a narrative so compelling it reads like a novel, backed by rigorous archival work that reconfigures the Cold War's shadow lines.
For a Model UN veteran like me – who learned diplomacy drafting resolutions in school auditoriums – this book is revelatory. Thant's UN had agency: cabling Kennedy and Khrushchev during the Missile Crisis, proposing Vietnam off-ramps that might have saved millions, championing post-colonial demands for economic justice. Myint-U's prose is crisp, cinematic; the footnotes attest to deep research without weighing down the pace.
What elevates it is excavating a forgotten internationalism. Thant embodied "Third World" ambition – decrying apartheid, pushing environmental safeguards early, insisting decolonisation meant economic sovereignty. His erasure by Western capitals (over Vietnam critiques, even-handedness on Israel) is a sobering lesson in whose stories endure.
Not hagiography: Myint-U notes flaws like excessive reserve. But the portrait is warm, measured – history through biography, as I was taught in school. Five stars: educational, narratively electric, urgent for our fractured multilateral moment. Highly recommended if you care about the UN's unrealised promise
October 18, 2025
A must read. I chose this book to learn something about the United Nations during the Cold War, thinking it would be interesting but perhaps slow-going at times. But I found myself devouring it over just three sittings - something I haven’t done in a long time. It’s a truly immersive read and definitely a page-turner. At its heart is the somewhat elusive but fascinating character of U Thant - his rise from village life to the very centre of world politics - and his desperate attempts to deal with one historic crisis to another (including saving all of us from nuclear armageddon). The thousand footnotes shows the rigor of a scholar. But the story reads almost like a novel. Along the way, it changed the way I think about world history and the the big international issues we have today.
December 23, 2025
The best biography and best book on modern international relations I have ever read. An amazing sweep of the 1960s, deeply researched, evocative, almost painfully nostalgic, a real page-turner that gives a fresh perspective on world affairs.
January 11, 2026
A masterfully well researched read that is inspiring and engrossing.
At a time when global cooperation is in retreat and that crises seem only to multiply, it is encouraging and instructive to study U Thant and his steadfast—and much-forgotten—labours in service of peace.
At a time when global cooperation is in retreat and that crises seem only to multiply, it is encouraging and instructive to study U Thant and his steadfast—and much-forgotten—labours in service of peace.
January 15, 2026
This book is about U Thant, the longest serving Secretary General of the UN of all time. He was also the first non-white holder of the position (in a time when we were a lot more openly racist), which also caused issues.
The book is all rather depressing. Thant, quite rightly, had no problem sticking his nose into situations he thought were important to the UN. This meant that in the 10+years he was in charge, he stuck his nose in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Congolese Civil War (yes that’s be going on since the 1960s -the former colonial powers were meddling to get raw materials out cheaply), the Vietnam War, the Indian war with Pakistan, and the Six Day War in the Middle East.
The West was happy with Thant initially, because he helped negotiate a way out of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but once he started expressing opinions about conflicts where they might be viewed as the aggressor, or went against their interests, they had no problem slagging him off, ruining his reputation, preventing him from winning the Nobel Peace Prize (in all likelihood stopping him from getting it in 1965 to 1967 -Thant was told he’d won, only to be told later he hadn’t, after the chair had a hissy fit), and being racist, and/or condescending to him by acting like he couldn’t see issues like they could.
The result was that the organisation was damaged, in my opinion. At a time when a large number of former colonies were stepping onto the world stage, they were being destabilised by the former colonial powers, and attacked the most significant person who called them on it.
So all in all, a depressing book.
The book is all rather depressing. Thant, quite rightly, had no problem sticking his nose into situations he thought were important to the UN. This meant that in the 10+years he was in charge, he stuck his nose in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Congolese Civil War (yes that’s be going on since the 1960s -the former colonial powers were meddling to get raw materials out cheaply), the Vietnam War, the Indian war with Pakistan, and the Six Day War in the Middle East.
The West was happy with Thant initially, because he helped negotiate a way out of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but once he started expressing opinions about conflicts where they might be viewed as the aggressor, or went against their interests, they had no problem slagging him off, ruining his reputation, preventing him from winning the Nobel Peace Prize (in all likelihood stopping him from getting it in 1965 to 1967 -Thant was told he’d won, only to be told later he hadn’t, after the chair had a hissy fit), and being racist, and/or condescending to him by acting like he couldn’t see issues like they could.
The result was that the organisation was damaged, in my opinion. At a time when a large number of former colonies were stepping onto the world stage, they were being destabilised by the former colonial powers, and attacked the most significant person who called them on it.
So all in all, a depressing book.
October 14, 2025
Couldn't stop reading. A riveting account of the great wars and crises of 1960s told through the story of the schoolteacher from Burma who made an extraordinary leap to become UN Secretary-General. Learned so much about the history of the time - including events like the Cuban Missile Crisis and Six Day War - as well as people like Lyndon Johnson (who had a strange relationship with U Thant). A key question the book tries to answer is why U Thant, who was then one of the best known and popular personalities in America and internationally has been quietly forgotten and what reinserting him into the picture tells us about our recent past.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews