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Backstabbing for Beginners
- My Crash Course in International Diplomacy
- Narrated by: Maxwell Hamilton
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
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Backstabbing for Beginners
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Summary
The year is 1997, Michael Soussan, a fresh-faced young graduate takes up a new job at the UN's Oil-for-Food program, the largest humanitarian operation in the organization's history. His mission is to help Iraqi civilians survive the devastating impact of economic sanctions that were imposed following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
As a gaffe-prone novice in a world of sensitive taboos, Soussan struggles to negotiate the increasing paranoia of his incomprehensible boss and the inner workings of one of the world's notoriously complex bureaucracies. But as he learns more about the vast sums of money flowing through the program, it becomes clear that all is not what it seems. Soussan becomes aware that Saddam Hussein is extracting illegal kickbacks, a discovery that sets him on a collision course with the organization's leadership. On March 8, 2004, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Soussan becomes the first insider to call for "an independent investigation" of the UN's dealings with Saddam Hussein. One week later, a humiliated Kofi Annan appointed Paul Volcker to lead a team of international investigators, whose findings resulted in hundreds of prosecutions in multiple countries, many of which are still ongoing.
Backstabbing for Beginners is at once a witty tale of one man's political coming of age, and a stinging indictment of the hypocrisy that prevailed at the heart of one of the world's most idealistic institutions.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amber Geddes
- 21-10-21
Gripping tale of what goes on behind the scenes
I had this on my wish list for a long time, very glad I finally gave it a go as, it was excellent. very well read and written, keeping what could have been a dry subject very engaging. A fascinating and alarming insight into what goes on behind the scenes in a huge organisation like the UN.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- William Carse-Austen
- 20-11-17
An incredible, perspective changing, listen
Soussan's brilliant text is performed extremely well Maxwell Hamilton, who, (despite one questionable Australian accent for the head of the Australian Wheat Board) is great. The text itself is such an insight into the laughable world of lies, deceit and bigoted egos that block those with true passion and determination to change the lives of people who need it most. My personal favourite parts of the text - when Soussan explains how incredibly smart Saddam was, albeit shockingly corrupt, to mastermind the downfall of integrity of most first world countries of the world and the U.N. Members and chairmen of countries you wouldn't believe would partake in dodgy dealings are the first to be whistle-blown by Soussan; Not just the US and Russia - but Australia, France, New Zealand and plenty of others are all in on it.
Cracking yarn. An absolute must.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Hetti
- 15-03-24
This book shines a light on the dark side of international orgs.
After watching the movie, I decided to read the book that inspired it. I recommend them both. It describes the journey of a young idealist that at the end of his experience at the UN, and after the oil-for-food scandal, turns into a very-down-to-earth realist. I lived a similar experience but in a (very) much smaller scale, doing volunteering work at local ngos. That's why I was not surprised by the end of the book, where true personalities emerge, with all their weaknesses and corruption. I recommend this book to all those young people, who would like to work in international cooperation or just volunteer. Not because I want to turn them into cynics but because they need an opportunity to get into the org with their eyes open.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Eugene
- 24-01-18
Interesting, well read and quite eye opening
Very interesting, and jauntily read with some wry humour, without getting into a huge blame game or cynicism at the end.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Luke Y
- 07-03-18
A startling political revelation
An eye opening account of international fraud that gives unprecedented insight and perspective into the workings of the UN and the recent history of Iraq and the war on terror.
Well written and well performed - my only gripe is that some non-American accents were a little interesting but overall this is definitely one to hear.
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