Kofi Annan: A Man of Peace in a World of War - Paperback

by Stanley Meisler (Author)

In this thoughtful, balanced biography, former Los Angeles Times foreign and diplomatic correspondent Stanley Meisler traces Kofi Annan's unconventional rise from optimistic student to striving personnel and budget specialist in the United Nations bureaucracy to full-time manager of the world's crises. The book presents a unique portrait of this widely admired leader, with Annan's own view of events tempered and augmented by those of his allies and opponents, defenders and detractors.

Back Jacket

Absorbing.
--"Booklist"

"Comprehensive and well written. . . . Anyone genuinely interested in the affairs of this all-important world body, ultimate guarantor of peace and stability, should definitely read it."
--"The Irish Times"

"Stanley Meisler has made the U.N. story come alive as a flesh-and-blood drama of outsized egos clashing over high-stakes issues."
--Doyle McManus, Washington bureau chief, "Los Angeles Times"

Rarely does a prominent world figure cooperate with a biographer who offers no say over the book's contents, no prepublication examination of the manuscript, and no guarantee that the final product will present its subject in a positive light. In "Kofi Annan," former "Los Angeles Times" foreign and diplomatic correspondent Stanley Meisler traces Annan's unconventional rise from optimistic student to striving personnel and budget specialist in the United Nations bureaucracy to full-time manager of the world's crises.

"Kofi Annan" presents a unique portrait of this widely admired leader--with his own view of events tempered and augmented by those of his allies and opponents, defenders and detractors. It is a must-read for anyone interested in diplomacy, international affairs, war and peace, and the daunting task of saving the world from the ravages of war.

Author Biography

Stanley Meisler is the author of United Nations: The First Fifty Years, the only authoritative history of the U.N. He has known Kofi Annan for many years, having covered him during most of Annan's career as a public figure. For twenty years, Meisler covered much of the world for the "Los Angeles Times," returning to the United States to cover the U.N. in New York and the State Department in Washington. Meisler still contributes articles to the paper's Book Review, Sunday Opinion, and Art sections. He has also contributed to "Foreign Affairs," "The Atlantic," "Reader's Digest," and other publications.