The United Nations: Its History and the Canadians Who Shaped It

Christine Linge is a past director of the Toronto & District Parent
Co-operative Preschool Corporation and a freelance writer.

Award-winning author Desmond Morton offers students a thorough history
of the United Nations, with a special focus on Canada’s involvement.
From its faltering predecessor, as the League of Nations, through its
controversial participation in the Yugoslav crisis, Morton documents the
U.N.’s growth and development while examining the global forces that
shaped it.

Many chapters begin by juxtaposing the individual’s hometown concerns
and those of the world community, comparing the formation of the U.N. to
the measures that the individual might take to keep order and foster
cooperation in his or her neighborhood. The world, he argues is a global
community that tries to manage its affairs through international
associations fulfilling the roles of peacekeeper, judge, and mediator.
Students will more readily assimilate information when such parallels
with their own lives are clearly drawn.

Morton also engages his audience by directly addressing his reader
(“Ever heard of Matej Gaspar?”) and by encapsulating the biographies
of Canada’s 11 important contributors in highlighted sidebars.

While the colorful cover features the flags of the member nations, the
body of the text is presented in shades of blue, black, and white. Even
with the many photos and modern graphics, the overall muted effect
undermines the exciting story that is being told. Also, the Canadians
featured deserve better photographic portraits that those used here.

This timely volume, with its engaging style, is highly recommended.