Reviews:
-Norris, a senior political adviser with the United Nations Mission in Nepal, begins his analysis of world disaster areas with personal notes on his career choice of the disaster industry. He then describes his work with relief teams in Rwanda, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan-Pakistan, and Liberia, which provide insights into these situations. In conclusion, he reflects on why he remains optimistic despite the grim realities.
—Reference & Research Book News
-[I]f you are interested in the intricacies of aid work in some of the world's nastiest conflicts, you'll find Norris' book surprisingly engaging for such a tough subject.
—Reuters AlertNet
-"…The book has such richness of dialogue and detail that one is left wondering how Norris capture all of these episodes. I pictured him scribbling furiously in a notebook in the midst of all of these encounters. Some of the details he describes—his meeting with the notorious former Liberian strongman Charles Taylor, for one—may have been so memorable that they were impossible to forget."
—Political Science Quarterly
-"The book is an engrossing read, providing a vivid memoir of John Norris's stints—for the United States Agency for International Development, the International Crisis Group, and the UN—in a number of the world's most difficult humanitarian emergencies and civil wars over the past two decades,… Even as the book is about these itinerant humanitarian workers, Norris does an exceptionally good job of encapsulating the political context of each of these conflicts and emergencies in a few short pages… authentic and authoritative."
—Political Science Quarterly