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UNtold is a provocative, engaging exploration of the United Nations, including its history and how it functions. This is a “warts and all” look at a controversial institution that over 70 years has variously evoked respect, indifference, and outrage from the US media. The author and illustrator have plenty of personal experience with the UN at all levels and through their concise, informative text and whimsical cartoons, they describe how the organization is supposed to work, how it actually behaves, and why there is a difference! UNtold lets readers in on the quirks and mysteries of international diplomacy and global decision-making. Delightfully funny and irreverent, the message is that this vital body really can represent “We the peoples of the world.” The book has something to offer everyone, from high school and college students involved in model UNs to secretaries of state and senior diplomats.
"A lively, informative, frank, and indispensable guide to all that's invaluable about the UN—and what needs to be fixed as well."
—John Feffer, director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies and author of Splinterlands
“From Rwanda to the Balkans to Sudan to Syria, human rights supporters and defenders have been campaigning to get the UN’s members and the organization itself to reform and act on the principles it has established. UNTold continues Ian’s remarkable work in supporting this invaluable institution while questioning its delivery—and the hypocrisy of so many member states whose adherence and support for international law and human rights is so often compromised.”
—Bianca Jagger, founder and executive president, Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, member of the Executive Director's Leadership Council, Amnesty International USA
"A book on the UN that is entertaining as well as fair and accurate—and tells you what you want to know? Only one person could do it: Ian Williams, who has been the UN’s jovial gadfly for a quarter of a century. Thank goodness he has!"
—Edward Mortimer, speechwriter and communications director for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, 1998–2006
“The absolutely essential companion for anyone who wants to know everything about the UN, but who never thought to ask.”
—Mark Seddon, speechwriter for former SG Ban Ki-moon, former UN Correspondent, Al Jazeera TV
“UNtold is a much-needed exploration of the United Nations that neither mythologizes the world body nor condemns it out of hand. For those who want a critical assessment, with humor, of the UN, UNtold is a book they must read.”
—Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1997), Chair, Nobel Women's Initiative
"Full disclosure: I am a native New Yorker and for the last 30 years, I've been a working TV journalist based in the heart of NYC. One thing that I know for sure is that the average New Yorker—even the average journalist—knows very little about the United Nations other than it sits on the banks of the East River and diplomats tie up traffic during the General Assembly gathering in September. Other than that, about eight and a half million neighbors to this powerful institution barely pay it any mind. The globally powerful Secretary General could walk along Broadway without even being recognized. Ian Williams UNtold is the perfect remedy for this tragic indifference. UNtold is a delightfully digestible history about the most important international intergovernmental agency which is dedicated to maintaining global peace and order. As the only local television reporter in New York to interview Ban ki-Moon, I deeply appreciate the power of this critically important institution which essentially sits in my backyard. Over the years I have walked its hallowed halls and even addressed the General Assembly. I trust that Williams passionate new book will inspire more people to view the UN as more than a simply a tourist destination. The United Nations is truly a gift to the world."
—Cheryl Wills, author and anchor, NY1 News
"A lively, informative, frank, and indispensable guide to all that's invaluable about the UN—and what needs to be fixed as well."
—John Feffer, director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies and author of Splinterlands
“From Rwanda to the Balkans to Sudan to Syria, human rights supporters and defenders have been campaigning to get the UN’s members and the organization itself to reform and act on the principles it has established. UNTold continues Ian’s remarkable work in supporting this invaluable institution while questioning its delivery—and the hypocrisy of so many member states whose adherence and support for international law and human rights is so often compromised.”
—Bianca Jagger, founder and executive president, Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, member of the Executive Director's Leadership Council, Amnesty International USA
A book on the UN that is entertaining as well as fair and accurate—and tells you what you want to know? Only one person could do it: Ian Williams, who has been the UN’s jovial gadfly for a quarter of a century. Thank goodness he has!"
—Edward Mortimer, speechwriter and communications director for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, 1998–2006
“The absolutely essential companion for anyone who wants to know everything about the UN, but who never thought to ask.”
—Mark Seddon, speechwriter for former SG Ban Ki-moon, former UN Correspondent, Al Jazeera TV
“UNtold is a much-needed exploration of the United Nations that neither mythologizes the world body nor condemns it out of hand. For those who want a critical assessment, with humor, of the UN, UNtold is a book they must read.”
—Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1997), Chair, Nobel Women's Initiative
"Full disclosure: I am a native New Yorker and for the last 30 years, I've been a working TV journalist based in the heart of NYC. One thing that I know for sure is that the average New Yorker—even the average journalist—knows very little about the United Nations other than it sits on the banks of the East River and diplomats tie up traffic during the General Assembly gathering in September. Other than that, about eight and a half million neighbors to this powerful institution barely pay it any mind. The globally powerful Secretary General could walk along Broadway without even being recognized. Ian Williams UNtold is the perfect remedy for this tragic indifference. UNtold is a delightfully digestible history about the most important international intergovernmental agency which is dedicated to maintaining global peace and order. As the only local television reporter in New York to interview Ban ki-Moon, I deeply appreciate the power of this critically important institution which essentially sits in my backyard. Over the years I have walked its hallowed halls and even addressed the General Assembly. I trust that Williams passionate new book will inspire more people to view the UN as more than a simply a tourist destination. The United Nations is truly a gift to the world."
—Cheryl Wills, author and anchor, NY1 News