A Billion Lives: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontlines of Humanity | 
 enlarge | Author: Jan Egeland
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $27.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 52065
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Simon & Schuster Hardcover Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 1416560963
Dewey Decimal Number: 909.825
EAN: 9781416560968
ASIN: 1416560963
Publication Date: March 4, 2008
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Product Description
Called "the world's conscience" and one of the 100 most influential people of our time by Time magazine, Jan Egeland has been the public face of the United Nations. As Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, he was in charge of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for three and a half years. One of the bravest and most adventuresome figures on the international scene, Egeland takes us to the frontlines of war and chaos in Iraq, to scenes of ethnic cleansing in Darfur, to the ground zeroes of famine, earthquakes, and tsunamis. He challenges the first world to act. A Billion Lives is his on-the-ground account of his work in the most dangerous places in the world, where he has led relief efforts, negotiated truces with warlords, and intervened in what many had thought to be hopeless situations. As one of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's closest advisers, Jan Egeland was at the heart of crises during a difficult period in UN history, when the organization was plagued by the divisive aftermath of the Iraq war, the Oil-for-Food scandal, and terror attacks against UN workers. On the day Egeland came to New York to take up his job, the UN building in Baghdad was destroyed by a huge bomb, killing one of his predecessors, Sergio de Mello. Two months later Annan sent Egeland to Iraq to judge whether the UN could keep a presence there. Since that first mission to Baghdad, Egeland has been envoy to such places as Darfur, Eastern Congo, Lebanon, Gaza, Northern Israel, Northern Uganda, and Colombia. He coordinated the massive international relief efforts after the Indian Ocean tsunami and South Asian earthquake. As a negotiator and activist, Egeland is famous for direct language, whether he's addressing warlords, guerrilla leaders, generals, or heads of state. A Billion Lives is his passionate, adventure-filled eyewitness account of the catastrophes the world faces. And so Egeland writes that he has met the best and worst among us, has "confronted warlords, mass murderers, and tyrants, but [has] met many more peacemakers, relief workers, and human rights activists who risk their lives at humanity's first line of defense." In spite of the desperate need of so many, Egeland is convinced that, "For the vast majority of people, the world is getting better, that there is more peace, more people fed and educated, and fewer forced to become refugees than a generation ago. So there is reason for optimism," he concludes in this groundbreaking book that does not flinch but holds out reasons for hope.
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| Customer Reviews:
 great book April 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read the book in the last week and thought it was excellent. Am looking to go into a humanitarian career, and Egeland has pointed me in the right direction. Highly recommend it.
A Deeper Understanding of Humanity and a Call to Action April 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The title of this book's first chapter, "Always Speak the Truth," sums up Jan Egeland's ethos. A call for transparency, an area where leaders often fail their citizens and the world, is what awakened me to Egeland's gift as a humanitarian worker following the Indian Ocean Tsunami in late December of 2004. Never in speeches or his writing, do I sense that Egeland equivocates to cover up hidden political agendas. He operates on equal terms for multifaceted conflicts by assessing visible damage and engaging in discussion, basing his formal opinion upon first-hand accounts of victimization and statistics offered to him by his advisors. This book is called, after all, A Billion Lives--"lives" being the operative word. Suffering human beings do not care about percentages and figures, they want their voices to be heard. Action, of course, must follow all talk, and this is where Egeland urges the world to help, since funding, assistance, and active participation by all countries are crucial elements in facilitating the United Nation's mission.
But this book is about much more than monetary pleas. If success is garnered first through listening and understanding, then empathy is the most crucial element of mediation--an element Egeland proves he has. We see empathy weaved throughout ten engaging chapters of life-experience, which, with a very human touch, cover a sometimes surprising gamut of topics filled with reason and emotion.
We empathize with Egeland as a human who falls ill from stress or a bad experience with food, who waits in excruciatingly long airport lines, who travels on public airplanes, and who catches a tragic CNN headline flashing across a public television set, announcing the death of a close friend and colleague, Sergio Vieira de Mello. We share the backlash and emotional roller coaster following the Indian Ocean Tsunami, where Egeland is first misquoted as saying the US, specifically, is "stingy" in its efforts to fund world humanitarian aid. We join his frustration in unsuccessfully communicating with a belligerent President Robert Mugabe who would rather engage in name-calling than negotiate for peace. Most surprisingly, through it all, Egeland maintains a keen sense of humor and a positive outlook. Yet the main focus of this book is not on him, but on the people he strives to help.
Egeland recounts the many personal stories of those he meets throughout his journey, as well as the scenery and politics surrounding any given situation. In chapter seven, he explains his role in the hopeful signing of the Oslo Accord. In chapter nine, on page 210, Egeland relates a gruesome tale told to him by a former LRA child soldier from Gulu, Uganda. In this same chapter, on page 214, he explains his deep sentiments when a survivor names her baby after his wife, and he is asked to support the child's preschooling. At times, the photos, especially to those who were fortunate enough to attend his book tour lecture (captivating in color and on screen), are an even stronger visual reminder of the juxtaposition of tragedy and hope, as seen in the humble dignity of seated Burkinabe victims who gather with UN members for an outdoor meeting. We can feel the immense poignancy in chapter six after reading Egeland's quote about the 2006 Israeli-Palestinean conflict: "As we rise to shake hands, [Fouad] Siniora adds a final request: 'Remember our blood is as precious as Israeli blood.' 'I know,' I say" (141). Again, empathy unclouded by prejudice is needed to understand the depth of their words.
In light of his writings, we cannot, in a modern and supposedly enlightened world, lose sight of our past or the pain and suffering of our fellow humans in the present, nor can any one nation turn a blind eye or make a successful attempt at pushing a unilateral agenda. Though Egeland is often quite serious with his words, he remains hopeful for the state of the UN: "In spite of these brutal challenges, I believe there is reason for optimism. The coming years can and will see a revival of multilateral action, because the largest disasters, wars, and crises cannot be handled by any nation on its own. In this regard no nation is exempted" (218).
If anything, I would lesson stars in my rating in my wish for even more content about an immensely intriguing and inspiring man who should gain further recognition as a world role model, especially in the United States, where intuition, experience, and wisdom are often met with disrespect, suspicion, and defensive posturing. But maybe, as busy as Mr. Egeland is in trying to change the world, he does not have time to further elaborate at this moment.
Inspiring April 5, 2008
I heard Mr. Egeland give an address in Minneapolis on public radio and was so impressed I went out and bought the book. I was not disappointed. It is a down in the trenches account of dealing with disaster, tragedy, injustice, conflict and poverty all over the world. It is also one man's account seen from his perspective, with all of the advantages and biases that entails. It is, however, an enthralling read and I found myself marveling at the courage he's displayed while dealing with some of the world's most violent and despicable thugs. I was particularly heartened by the attention he paid to the Palestinian dilemma since I've worked with humanitarian groups in Gaza and the West Bank and this is an area of interest to me. When he says this is a conflict that worries him, we should all be worried.
Despite the catalog of human misery the book recounts, I found it generally an optimistic read. As Mr. Egeland says, we now have mechanisms for dealing with disasters such as the 2006 tsunami that didn't exist a generation ago and he relates the successes in minimizing human loss in his accounts of various earthquakes and hurricanes. One of the messages is that the UN does good work and, despite its imperfections, it would be a much poorer and more dangerous world without it. He offers a number of solutions to help improve its function and effectiveness.
This is a necessary and important book because it offers a much deeper insight into the world of international relief than we see on CNN or in the disappearing international coverage in our newspapers. It's also a necessary counterpoint to the know-nothing anti-UN crowd, one of whom was recently our ambassador to the organization.
Endelig, sier jeg takk for ditt arbeid and bra gjordt, Herr Egeland.
 Tragedies Viewed From Ground Level, But Requiring Higher-Level Fixing March 25, 2008
3 out of 14 found this review helpful
Egeland takes on a front-line, ground-level tour of tragedies across the globe - from the Ivory coast, to Baghdad, Columbia, Darfur, the Tsunami in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, etc.
Unfortunately, these and other problems require resolution at a higher level. Specifically, they require answering the question: "Why doesn't the U.N. work very well?" Thus, the value of "A Billion Lives" is severely limited.
Egeland does offer some interim solutions - eg. increase overall donor levels from 0.3% of GNP to 0.7% and make their availability more certain, providing more forces for peacekeeping, controlling proliferation of arms (there are abourt 640 million small arms and light weapons around the world), eliminate indiscriminate weapons (eg. cluster bombs, land mines), and revise the convoluted U.N. control structure.
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