Surviving the United Nations

A UN security advisor recounts his dangerous—and often contentious—time with the organization in this candid combat memoir.

Robert B. Adolph was a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces before becoming a security advisor for the United Nations. Adolph was sent to some of the most dangerous places on earth in pursuit of humanitarian efforts. But sometimes his worst opponent was the institution that had sent him. He holds the distinction of having been twice promoted—and twice fired—by the U.N.

In Surviving the United Nations, Adolph vividly recounts his experiences on assignment in Iraq when terrorists blew up the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. He also describes encounters with murderous child-soldiers; blood diamonds; a double hostage-taking; an invasion by brutal guerrillas; an emergency aerial evacuation; a desperate mission to recover hundreds of prisoners; tribal gunfights and unusual kidnappings; refugee camp violence; and institutional corruption.