Interventions – A Life in War and Peace

Kofi Annan’s book Interventions, a Life in War and Peace was published in October 2012, and is now available for purchase in English, French, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. This page contains information on vendors, excerpts from the book and links to Mr. Annan’s speaking engagements and media appearances when the book was launched, providing remarkable insights into Kofi Annan’s personal life and experiences.

About Interventions

Interventions tells the story of Kofi Annan’s forty years of service at the United Nations. With eloquence and unprecedented candour, Kofi Annan shares his unique perspective on leading the United Nations during one of the most consequential eras in recent history.

Interventions chronicles the highs and lows of Annan’s years at the United Nations, from shuttle-diplomacy during the crises in Kosovo, Lebanon and Israel-Palestine, to the disastrous and wrenching disagreements over the Iraq War, via the creation of the landmark Responsibility to Protect doctrine. He writes about the organisation’s on-going challenges as well as efforts that ended in failure, including the tragedies in Somalia, Rwanda, and Bosnia, continuing violence in the Middle East, the persistence of HIV/AIDS, and endemic poverty on his home continent.

When he explores the United Nations’ missed opportunities, Kofi Annan reveals that, time and again, the world’s governments have retreated from the UN’s founding purpose. He also highlights the organisation’s many successes, and makes a passionate case for a United Nations that will serve the interests of individuals around the globe rather than its member states, and that will intervene, rather than stand by, when humanitarian crises occur.

Interventions powerfully conveys Kofi Annan’s firm belief in the power of individual action, underscoring that solutions to global challenges are available, if we have the will and courage to see them through.

Click here to read an excerpt from Interventions.
Click here to buy the book from Amazon