The Absolutely Indispensable Man

In Kal Raustiala, Ralph Bunche has found his most attentive, incisive, and sympathetic biographer. Arguably the nation's most significant envoi of the American Century, Dr. Bunche emerges from these pages a brilliant, complex figure—equally pragmatic and visionary, cautious and courageous. We discover a precocious Black kid with worldly dreams; a genuine internationalist skeptical of nationalisms; an intellectual maverick who helped to construct the postwar global order while insisting on a planet without colonies. An absolutely indispensable book. * Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original *
The Absolutely Indispensable Man is a magisterial tour through the life of Ralph Bunche filled with riveting history, hard-earned wisdom, and essential lessons for our own times. At a time of global disorder, Kal Raustiala brings us the incredibly full life of a man represented the best of what both America and the international order could be. * Ben Rhodes, author of After the Fall and The World as It Is *
Not only a brilliant assessment of my grandfather's international career, but a timely reminder of the central role of the United Nations and UN peacekeeping in the liberation of colonized and oppressed people. * Ralph J. Bunche III, General Secretary of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization *
When Ralph Bunche was born in 1903, nearly half the world's population—the darker half—lived under colonial rule. By the time of his death in 1971, colonialism was dead and the newly independent states had a voice in world affairs through the United Nations. As Kal Raustiala so convincingly demonstrates, no one was more central to decolonization or to the UN than Ralph Bunche. * Charles P. Henry, Professor Emeritus of African-American Studies, University of California at Berkeley *
This is an outstanding biography. If someone had asked me whether we needed another biography of Bunche after Brian Urquhart's seminal study, I would have said, 'No.' Then I read Kal Raustiala's extraordinary volume. It brings to life the person, the times and Bunche's pathbreaking role in the creation of the modern United Nations with fresh insights on every page. This is essential reading for all who seek to understand the UN's potential and its limitations. * Michael Doyle, Columbia University, former Special Adviser to Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Planning, United Nations *
The Absolutely Indispensable Man could not be more timely. Kal Raustiala weaves together absorbing stories of Ralph Bunche's life against the complex backdrop of race, global power politics, and the building of the 20th century international order. At a time when the future of that order is in question and issues of white supremacy roil both domestic and international politics, this book is lively, illuminating, and important. * Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America *
This study is indispensable for understanding the era... A lengthy treatise but a great read. * Choice *
This book is a well-written and relevant account of the remarkable career of a pioneering postwar official, from whose successes and failures valuable lessons can be drawn. * Cormac Shine, International Affairs *