The first full-dress biography of Bunche - and one that brings to
life the many achievements of a remarkable diplomat. Drawing on
access to Bunche's private papers and to knowledge gained during
his stint as Bunche's assistant at the UN, Urquhart (A Life in
Peace and War, 1987; Hammarskjold, 1972) offers a nuanced portrait
of an exceptional man who began as a militant critic of white
America and ended as a member of its establishment. Bunche, the
grandson of a former slave, graduated from UCLA in 1927, earned a
doctorate at Harvard, and helped Gunner Myrdal research his
landmark study, An American Dilemma. During WW II, the future UN
undersecretary general served with the OSS, moving in 1944 to the
State Department, where - in his capacity as head of the section
dealing with colonial affairs - he participated in the founding of
the UN and the drafting of its charter. In the wake of his
appointment to the UN Secretariat, Bunche negotiated the 1949
armistice between Israel and its Arab neighbors, a feat that won
him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950. As the secretary-general's chief
troubleshooter, he directed missions to defuse the Suez, Congo,
Cyprus, and other crises. Though a world-class statesmen widely
esteemed for his mediation talents, the globe-trotting Bunche (who
died in 1971 at age 67) remained a second-class citizen subject to
racial discrimination in the US - where he was visibly, if
judiciously, active in the civil-rights movement. Throughout,
Urquhart provides perceptive accounts of Bunche's many appearances
on the international stage, plus valuable perspectives on his
relations with a close-knit family. As additional archival material
becomes available, scholars will no doubt pay closer attention to
Bunche's extraordinary accomplishments as a peacemaker. But be that
as it may, Urquhart's scrupulously documented, wide-angle narrative
bids fair to become a standard reference on the man. (Kirkus
Reviews)
A superb narrative biography of the international diplomat and racial pioneer—the basis for the acclaimed four-part PBS TV series.
Ralph Bunche was instrumental — sometimes at great personal risk — in finding peaceful solutions to incendiary conflicts around the world, while at the same time he was never far from the realities of racial prejudice. Bunche rose from modest circumstances to become the foremost international mediator and peacekeeper of his time, winner of the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize and key drafter of the United Nations charter.
Drawing on Bunche's personal papers and on his many years as Bunche's colleague at the UN, Brian Urquhart's elegant biography delineates a man with a zest for life as well as unsurpassed integrity of purpose.
"Brian Urquhart brings [Bunche] back to life with a splendid biography. . . . Bunche emerges here as one of the major American diplomatic figures of this century and one of the towering leaders in African American history."—Arnold Rampersad, Princeton University
"At once a splendid biography of a very brave and remarkable American, a vivid account of the struggle for racial justice, and an indispensable introduction to the dilemmas of international peacekeeping."—Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
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