Five to Rule Them All: The Un Security Council and the Making of the Modern World

by David L. Bosco

Book Overview

From the Berlin Airlift to the Iraq War, the UN Security Council has stood at the heart of global politics. Part public theater, part smoke-filled backroom, the Council has enjoyed notable successes and suffered ignominious failures, but it has always provided a space for the five great powers to sit down together.
Five to Rule Them All tells the inside story of this remarkable diplomatic creation. Drawing on extensive research, including dozens...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195328760
• ISBN13: 9780195328769
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Five Nations Running the Security Council

The story of the United Nations is the story of the Security Council, and more specifically the five permanent members who have veto power on the Security Council. In a way these five members have control over security of the world, and have the power to decide whether to intervene in conflicts or not. Yet the shape of the Security Council, and what its role should be, has changed and is ever changing. Is it a place for nations to hold diplomatic discussions, and have ways for belligerent nations to save face; or is it a governing body that can actively take part in governance of the world by getting actively involved in local conflicts? It has been both of these things, and the Security Council struggles to this day with these two competing ideologies. David Bosco gives the reader the story of the Security Council from the point of view of the Big Five--How the relations of the Big Five affected how the Council worked, from the early days, through the height of the Cold War to the fall of Soviet Russia and the rise of transnational threats. Bosco uses a United States-British point of view of the Council, briefly bringing in the other voices. He admits this at the end--that drawbacks include a combination of lack of archival access and a language barrier. While the book is good for students early on in their education or a reader wanting to know more, there is a lack of discussion about how the Security Council interacted with other bodies in the UN besides the General Assembly and how formal treaties came to be, with or without approval from the Big Five. Reviewed by Kevin Winter

Great Writing Makes the Security Council Come Alive

This is an outstanding book. In "Five To Rule Them All", David Bosco seamlessly weaves together a series of pivotal events to create a compelling, informative, and thoroughly entertaining narrative of the UN Security Council. The account was clearly well-researched, but it is Bosco's natural gift as a story-teller that makes this book a terrific read. From the very beginning, when Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin and their respective diplomatic representatives first conceive of a new and improved League of Nations, Bosco brings the characters to life, illustrating how personality differences and personal and national interests nearly quashed the formation of the United Nations. Bosco describes the disputes among the global leaders, such as the "X-Matter", with such depth that I felt as if I were actually at the negotiating table with the participants. At the same time, the author is able to put all of these discussions within an historical context so that the implications and consequences of the Security Council's decisions can be easily understood. With its long history and complicated subject-matter, the UN Security Council poses many challenges as a book topic. Bosco makes a strong case for the Council's inherent value, but he also writes a balanced account that documents the many failures of the organization and includes multiple perspectives on events throughout the book. Ultimately, he makes a persuasive argument that, while the Security Council has fallen short in achieving many of its goals, it has succeeded in accomplishing its primary objective: to avoid conflict (i.e. war) among the Great Powers. You don't have to be an historian, journalist, or academic to like or appreciate this book. You just have to enjoy reading exciting stories about individuals and events that have helped to shape the modern world. Jon Cross, Brooklyn, NY