A Life in Peace and War

by Brian Urquhart

“[Urquhart is] an accomplished memoirist whose prose is graceful, often funny, and unfailingly readable. . . . [His] perspective on history is compelling. . . . Full of fascinating anecdotes and asides.” ―Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times How can peace be encouraged and sustained in a violent world? For nearly half a century at the United Nations, ultimately as Under Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs, Brian Urquhart wrestled with this problem at its front lines. Managing the United Nations’ peacekeeping operations in the world’s hot spots―the Congo in the aftermath of Patrice Lumumba’s assassination, Cyprus at the bloodiest moment of conflict between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Kashmir, and, through the tragic cycle of four wars, the Middle East―he has tested the limits, and the possibilities, of peacekeeping in the modern world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, International Relations, Biography, Politics, Biography Memoir, Memoir

420 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1987

About the author

Major Sir Brian Edward Urquhart, KCMG, MBE, was a British international civil servant and World War II veteran, and author. He played a significant role in the founding of the United Nations, ultimately serving as its Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs from 1972 until 1986.

Reviews

[Ash Gawain · Rating 4 out of 5]

The autobiography of Brian Urquhart, employee number 2 at the United Nations. Easy reading, it gives an excellent overview of the geopolitical history from the 1930s to the 1980s, as Urquhart has been witness to critical events even before his start at the UN.
For instance, as an Intelligence Officer in the British Airborne troops in 1944, he advised against the operation Market Garden but was instead sent on sick-leave as he was clashing with the senior management. An event depicted in the movie A Bridge Too Far.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is, by turns, fascinating and frustrating. At its worst it descends into Abe-Simpson-esque rambling stories of an old man. At its best it’s a dazzling play by play of the highest level negotiations that affect millions of people’s real lives.

I really appreciate the perspective from the lifer at the highest non-political levels of the UN who persisted through cycle after cycle of leadership, sentiment, progress, and setback. His pragmatic outlook and concern for basic human rights and flourishing comes across clearly throughout. His frank assessments of the other actors is also quite refreshing.

If I have any real complaint, it’s that he assumes a level of knowledge about the world and the players of the time that is no longer common. He doesn’t worry about introducing context for people or events who show up and disappear with the arbitrariness that’s only possible in real life because it doesn’t adhere to narrative expectations. In other areas, he does explore deep background elements and even minutiae. The overall effect is an uneven and idiosyncratic presentation of the material that makes it harder to stay engaged.

But again, this idiosyncratic perspective is also the strength of the book. Literally no one else could have written it and had the details of so much international history available from a first hand perspective. And that’s ultimately what pays off in this book.

(The other frustrating element is being reminded over and over again just how much of the flower of human ingenuity is wasted on ultimately pointless conflict, and how much of an uphill battle it is for those who try to keep things rational and on an even keel. Over and over again, your heart breaks at the willful destruction of peace and civilian lives, just as, it seems, BU’s did.)

[Holly Morrow]

British diplomat Brian Uruqhart was one of the team that founded the United Nations, and his book takes us through his childhood years; WWII, when he fought in a British airborne division (although in his retelling "fought" sounds an awful lot like bumbling around and waiting for the Americans to show up, to be honest), to the early years of the UN; and his eventual retirement. He had an amazing perch from which to watch world events unfold in the latter half of the 20th century, and he knew many of its most important figures (I've walked past the State Department's Ralph Bunche library but never knew who he was - hes one of the most interesting characters in the book). The book is strongest in its first half - he is meditative (in a British kind of way) about his childhood years and his absent father and difficult mother, and his descriptions of British public (i.e. private) school and Oxford are rich and evocative. I am fairly to strongly cynical regarding the UN, so it was interesting to read his recounting of the thinking at the time the UN was created (pages 90-97 in particular are an excellent encapsulation of what the UN was supposed to be and do). It is a compelling concept of course, but the fatal flaw seems to have been the assumption that the consensus among the great powers that had to some degree marked the WWII period would continue. Of course it didnt, and the Security Council (and therefore much of the UN's early work) was almost immediately polarized between the US and the Soviet Union. I am very sympathetic to his exasperation about members states' schizophrenia regarding the UN ("do more!" "do less!") and the expectation that somehow the UN - which is not after all an independent body - will somehow solve problems that the great powers cannot solve themselves. The second half takes us through the various crises the UN faced and that Uruqhart was personally involved in over the next two decades - its basically Middle East crisis, stalemate in Cyprus, another Middle East crisis, some more interminable and pointless logjam in Cyprus, etc etc. There are a couple crises in Congo and Namibia thrown in to mix things up. It gets a little repetitive, partly because I'm not especially interested in the parts of the world he focuses on, and partly because the mechanics of UN peacekeeping are a bit boring. One of the incredible things about the book is the amount of detail he remembers - what was served at a lunch 20 years prior, the make of car that picked him up at the airport, etc. I can barely remember someone's name when they've just told it to me, and the sum total of my recall of 1998 is that I was in China. In fact, these book reviews are a memory exercise for me, prompted by the fact that I once told someone that Watership Down is one of my favorite books and they asked me to explain it and all I could say was, "Its about rabbits." Anyway, I cant say I've read widely on the UN as an organization, but I'd hazard a guess that this is one of if not the best out there - Urquhart is a treasure trove of interesting historical anecdotes, and he is a fair-minded critic of both the strengths and weaknesses of the UN and its role in the world (and importantly, the way its member states have managed to undermine its original purpose).

[Charles Korb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book. Like many American students, a lot of my history classes stopped around WWII even the stuff after that was very America-centric so it was really interesting to read about all the other geopolitical engagements happening in the Cold war (for example I didn't even know that Namibia was once basically a lesser province of South Africa, let alone how that was resolved).

That being said, I do think the author assumes you have a basic familiarity with the history that I frequently didn't possess and sometimes he will name drop people and just assume you know who they are. As someone who was born after the first edition of this book was published, I could have gone for a few more explanations amidst the narrative.

Speaking of editions, the edition I read came out in the early 90's and almost every chapter in the latter third of the book has a gloomy ending modified by a footnote saying that since the original publication things have gotten better.

Overall, fun book but would have been better if I had just read a general history of the Cold war.

[Zeb U · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very well written book, and Brian Urquhart went very in depth with his life describing some of the very interesting things that happened in his life. He shows how experienced he is as a person and does a very good job describing how his life was during the war. You can also get a very good sense on how he worked for the UN, which is really interesting. You get a very good taste on how the UN was first formed. He also does a very good job on describing how he dealt with countries conflicts. I really recommend this book for people to read, and if your looking for a book that really informs you about how world problems and political problems were back then, then this is the book for you.

[Sally Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing previous reviewers have not mentioned is the many laugh-out-loud moments in this book. Although a deeply political work, the author's deadpan memory and crisp delivery make it very readable.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first became aware of Brian Urquhart through his always interesting and educational pieces in the New York Review of Books (http://www.nybooks.com/contributors/b...).

His essays were always on serious and interesting issues of international relations, war, and peace & security, and they displayed a deep historical context, an unpretentious humility, and a frankness that implied a keen and first-hand knowledge of global affairs. I found later that he was a career diplomat with the United Nations for many years (in fact, he helped establish the UN, was its second employee, established various UN peacekeeping missions in troubled regions across the world, and was the UN Under Secretary General for many years http://legal.un.org/avl/pdf/ls/Urquha...).

I recently came across this, his autobiography in a used book store. Accustomed to his clear and informative style in the NYRB, I grabbed it. This is a really wonderful autobiography, and Urquhart has lived an amazingly rich life filled with dedication and excitement and accomplishment. Urquhart’s life is an inspiration to anyone, as an illustration of purposeful altruistic dedication to the betterment of humankind. I really believe that it can inspire readers to contribute to making the world better. You don’t have to be borne wealthy, or talented, or beautiful, or a genius, to live an astoundingly rich life, filled with meaning, purpose, and impact.

This book spans his early years to joining the Allied forces in WWII, being among the first allied soldiers to liberate the Belsen concentration camp, his presence and participation in founding the United Nations, and his subsequent 40 years in the UN Secretariat - a whole lifetime of drama, conflict, duty, and moral effort; and where Urquhart had a continuous propensity to find himself in pivotal circumstances, to witness historic occurrences, and to work with influential and notable personalities such as Dag Hammarskjöld, Ralph Bunche, Kurt Waldheim, Henry Kissinger, and others.

For a sense of his life, and of his wonderful manner, this interview following the publication of this book is worth watching:
https://youtu.be/dfuJ4W-wqI4.

An interview he did with the UN Audiovisual Library is also recommended
http://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Urquhart_U....

This book is recommended to anyone researching the UN and its peacekeeping missions, or anyone thinking about serving at an international organization.

[FiveBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edward Mortimer has chosen to discuss Brian Urquhart’s A Life in Peace and War on FiveBooks as one of the top five on his subject – The UN, saying that:

The autobiography of Brian Urquhart, whose life for the first 40 years of the United Nations was more or less synonymous with that of the organization. He joined it before it really existed, in 1945, as a very young British soldier. He was there right from the beginning, and was particularly involved in the creation and running of UN peacekeeping.

The full interview is available here: http://five-books.com/interviews/edward-mortimer

[Forrest Chai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great introduction to a magnificent life spent in service, and to the behind-the-scene works of the UN at the time of world crises. Urquhart also provides a wry look at many of the key personalities of the day, his view of the South Asian leaders of the day was really sharp and aligns with many of the things I've read about them. I really appreciated his efforts to portray post-colonial peoples in a sympathetic lens, instead of the post-colonial attitudes of many authors of his time. Also, his thoughts of many of his interactions also showed me a new way of interacting with peoples different to myself.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this years ago and have never forgotten it. I have always been an admirer of the United Nations. I hope that the next generation reads this book and shapes of vision of the UN at its best.