This is an incredible book, rather than trying to present themselves as saints they show all the complex feeling and emotions in times of incredible danger and stress. Some might critique them as being cynics, but after reading about their experiances in the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda, corruption of the most disgusting kind in Liberia, and seeing the failurs of the UN and member states you will fell a bit cynical too. What is most interesting is that their original ideals of human rights remain just as strong although the belief that there is a global community to uphold such values is thouroughly shattared. READ THIS BOOK, we are motivated by many things as people, even the most alturistic among us.
But dont get the idea that this book is one big political blog, most importantly its fun and a great read, check it out!

This book is a huge disappointment. it is void of anything that is even close to interesting. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the world of the United Nations and the people who work there but instead I got the boring story of three dillusional people 2 of whom worked for the United Nations because they had no other choice availble at the time.

One of the characters is so dillusional that he goes soul searching in Israel after he learns about the Apratheid in South Africa but he neglects to mention that Isreal was one of the few countries that supported the racist government in South Africa at the time.

The second one is a wife who was so dependent on her husband that when they got divorced she struggled until she somehow ended up in the UN looking for money.

it was hard to read this book since it follows the lives of the three characters in a Diary style without really anything interesting that keeps the reader going.

I do not recommend this book.

How is it be possible to come across so selfishly while proclaiming to be dedicating one's life to the greater good? Well, two of the authors manage to do it. Did they decide to work on some of the UN's most dangerous missions to help the locals survive or to flee thier own inadequacies and trumped up versions of their worth? I am afraid the latter is the case. This book is a monument to youthful recklessnes.

I liked this book a lot. I have a particular interest in, and think it is important to know about the human truth of international peacekeeping. By human truth I mean, the actual human experience of trying to deliver/receive peacekeeping, not just the espoused goals or the statistics. Although those matter too. I think the whole picture is important. So the previous posts about whether the book is about international aid, its politics, or about three privileged westerners... whatever. It's about all of the above, and in my eyes, that's precisely the point. The truth about aid and politics will be rooted in real people's experiences.

I am not now nor have I ever been an aid worker, but I've had similar experiences. So I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the internationalist subculture. Right on.

The book did seem to lose some focus toward the end (as if they were racing to finish), and could have used more editing. In particular, I started noticing how identical the writing style was between the three writers, which made me suspicious -- who was really writing in those three different "I" voices? (Was it Ken?) Nonetheless, I did like the writing, some passages were worth reading several times, just to appreciate them.

And there were details that fell short of honest -- like Heidi comparing the loss of a loved one to the experience of childbirth, which it seems she's never had. These are stylistic quibbles, but I was so enjoying the honesty of the book that noticing these things bugged me.

I feel like I know these three people now, especially because of the photos. Maybe also because they are somewhat familiar to my own experiences.

Thanks for writing it.

As i read the book on a plane , i got a few strange looks due to the title i suspect . But dont be fooled , this is a book which made me feel compassion , joy and sorrow . You will feel anger at the politics of the UN but the book does show that we can all make a difference just by doing something about the world we live in .Read it and then try and do something not matter how "small" it may seem . Yes I know this review may be seen as fluff but there are plenty of others who can discuss the politics . Focus on the humanity and what you can do .