The Absolutely Indispensable Man: Ralph Bunche, the United Nations, and the Fight to End Empire

by Kal Raustiala

A legendary diplomat, scholar, and civil rights leader, Ralph Bunche was one of the most prominent Black Americans of the twentieth century. The first African American to obtain a political science Ph.D. from Harvard and a celebrated diplomat at the United Nations, he was once so famous he handed out the Best Picture award at the Oscars. Yet today Ralph Bunche is largely forgotten. In The Absolutely Indispensable Man , Kal Raustiala restores Bunche to his rightful place in history. He shows that Bunche was not only a singular figure in midcentury America; he was also one of the key architects of the postwar international order. Raustiala tells the story of Bunche’s dramatic life, from his early years in prewar Los Angeles to UCLA, Harvard, the State Department, and the heights of global diplomacy at the United Nations. After narrowly avoiding assassination, Bunche received the Nobel Peace Prize for his ground-breaking mediation of the first Arab-Israeli conflict, catapulting him to popular fame. A central player in some of the most dramatic crises of the Cold War, he pioneered conflict management and peacekeeping at the UN. But as Raustiala argues, his most enduring achievement was his work to dismantle European empire. Bunche perceptively saw colonialism as the central issue of the 20th century and decolonization as a project of global racial justice. From marching with Martin Luther King to advising presidents and prime ministers, Ralph Bunche shaped our world in lasting ways. This definitive biography gives him his due. It also reminds us that postwar decolonization not only fundamentally transformed world politics, but also powerfully intersected with America’s own civil rights struggle.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography

688 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2022

Reviews

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

To completely understand the geopolitics of the world as it is today and the institutions that engage in international relations, it is necessary to understand who Ralph Bunche is and the role he played in the course of human events in the mid-20th century.

As someone who received both an undergraduate history degree and a law degree from UCLA, spent numerous hours in Bunche Hall as a student and a Graduate Assistant, and currently practices international and foreign relations law in the Eastern Mediterranean; I can state with due humility (and even greater bewilderment as to why) that I knew little about Dr. Bunche and his accomplishments before reading this book, beyond, of course, knowing that he was a fellow True Bruin. It’s an absurdity that Dr. Bunche has been mostly forgotten by American history textbooks to the extent that he has, as his name should be included in the pantheon of greatest American civil servants, if not greatest Americans. He fully grasped, embodied, and devoted a life to seeking to fulfill the promise of the US Constitution, and he did so on a global scale.

I’m grateful to Kal Raustiala for enlightening me and generations hereafter to the fact that Ralph Bunche may just be the Truest Bruin of them all (certainly on the same playing field as Robinson, Ashe, Abdul-Jabbar, etc.).

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the Pulitzer Prize winning ‘American Prometheus’. I read ‘The Absolutely Indispensable Man’ a year after reading the epic Oppenheimer biography, and I found the two to be fascinating companion reads. As Bird and Sherwin did with their subject, Raustiala similarly weaves together an impressively researched, fluid narrative of Bunche’s life story while also thoroughly educating the reader on the contemporary geopolitical history. The content of both books is quite comparable and paralleled in many ways, too. Both subjects were American minorities born in 1904; one reshaped the world through his mastery of and leadership in the sciences and the other did the same through the humanities. And while experiencing and navigating the same confluence of world events at the same age, each left an indelible mark on foreign affairs.

I’m a huge fan of ‘The Absolutely Indispensable Man’. It’s a must read for history buffs, those practicing or interested in practicing international law or diplomacy, and, frankly, all UCLA alums (perhaps a Fiat Lux seminar on Bunche for undergrads is in order).

[Kwame Som-Pimpong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading

[grace :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was so cool to take a class with the author at UCLA and learn more about the incredible contributions of Ralph Bunche! I have a new appreciation for Bunche Hall now

[Kate Hornstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

For book club...not only a biography of a great man, but a fantastic history of post-WW2 foreign relations, the end of colonialism, and the development of the UN.