Ralph Bunche An American OdysseyA 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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RALPH BUNCHE: An American Life
User Review - KirkusThe 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 ... Read full review
Contents
Preface | 11 |
Prologue | 21 |
Beginnings | 23 |
UCLA Harvard and Howard | 37 |
Howard and Beyond | 49 |
England 1937 | 64 |
Africa and Asia | 72 |
An American Dilemma | 81 |
The Loyalty Question | 243 |
Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy | 257 |
Suez and the First Peacekeeping Force | 264 |
Lebanon 1958 and the Middle East | 291 |
The Congo | 299 |
The Loss of Hammarskjöld | 336 |
U Thant and the End of the Katanga Secession | 348 |
Yemen | 361 |
Prelude to War | 92 |
World War II Washington and the OSS | 101 |
The Road to San Francisco | 111 |
Building the United Nations | 125 |
Palestine | 139 |
With the Mediator in Palestine | 153 |
The Acting Mediator in Paris | 186 |
Armistice Talks in RhodesEgypt and Israel | 199 |
Armistice TalksJordan and Israel | 213 |
The End of the Mediation and the Nobel Prize | 221 |
Anticlimax | 233 |
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Common terms and phrases
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References to this book
To Make Our World Anew: Volume II: A History of African Americans Since 1880 Robin D. G. Kelley,Earl Lewis No preview available - 2005 |
Bibliographic information
| Title | Ralph Bunche An American Odyssey |
| Author | Brian Urquhart |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company, 1998 |
| ISBN | 0393318591, 9780393318593 |
| Length | 496 pages |
| Subjects | › › › Biography & Autobiography / Cultural, Ethnic & Regional / General Biography & Autobiography / General Biography & Autobiography / Historical Social Science / Ethnic Studies / American / African American & Black Studies |
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