Books
Fiction
A suspense novel about the UN global network
Journalist Kaye Ravez is newly married to United Nations diplomat Jorge. Then he becomes second-in-charge of a trillion dollar US/UN Fund to fight global terrorism and when the Fund Head begins to hunt his estranged wife in the world’s back alleys, Kaye is drawn into saving the wife, crossing her husband and bucking the megalithic bureaucracy being exploited in the chase that leads from New York to Switzerland to Nepal and Saudi Arabia.
“…gives life to public policy, funding and cultural snags as well as cultural synergies…makes the flavor of the UN universally accessible…renders in full color the movement of the United Nations. It shows there is much more to politics than fancy suits, podiums and cameras. Passion, integrity and fun are involved.” Sherri Rosen
“Cleverly woven plot and personalities.” Suzanne Sheppard
A romance novel about the Euro-American cultural gap through Hungarian eyes
Hungarian refugee Julia Kertesz gets engaged to American WWII veteran Arnie Smith just as the Iron Curtain comes lifts in 1989. When Julia’s eldest daughter tries to manipulate her into returning to the country the family fled after the 1956 revolution, Arnie’s American aloofness and Julia’s European intensity clash over family loyalties that threaten the engagement.
“Hungarian heat and American cool change places in this sweeping novel of mature love against a background of young love…in a uniquely personal portrait of Eastern Europe through the continent’s two great wars and their Communist aftermath.” Adam Salviani, Raider Publishing
“Very touching.” Suzanne Sheppard
Some have drawn parallels with Milos Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness of Being…
A contemporary novel about a Magic Mountain experience set in the Caribbean
Mix Bender is a thoughtful, brooding New Yorker unhappily involved in a superficial relationship when he quits his job to take a week-long time-out in the Caribbean. There he meets an earthy islander, a woman of depth and a psychiatrist who all provide an insight that keeps him from returning until the New York girlfriend comes to claim him and exposes the shallowness he had tolerated with her.
“…a strong and convincing grasp of emotions and passions…” M.R. Aig, Associated Press
“…one of a kind, and must reading. EXCELLENT!!” Gary Skeens, Green Feather Magazine
“Intelligent and entertaining…Mix Bender’s travels are those of every first generation American, torn between two cultures and trying to make himself whole.” David Gurewich, Travels with Dubinsky and Clive
The World Community on a UN Compound in Somalia, a non-fiction tribute to the UN’s work in the field and to the people of Somalia
The 1993 United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) was a first-of-a-kind mission. The United States-led humanitarian intervention against warlords ruling the country in anarchy since the turn of the decade ended in fiasco when the bodies of American Army Rangers were desecrated on live global television. The back-story to that event emerged on the ground from Somali and international journalists as the nearby Rwanda massacre took place and the Somalia mission wound down despite best efforts on all parts. Failure to succeed in the mission was due to cultural presumptions and faulty coordination between international and national actors, as well as to current global media, which reward with attention the kinds of behaviors seeking to be curbed.
“A unique insight into UN operations at all levels.” George Parker, Department of Public Information, United Nations
“This book puts the record straight…it appeals for a tapping of the UN’s extensive facilities for information the commercial media can use.” Abdul Rahman Turay, Deputy Chief of Staff, the United Nations Operation in Somalia
“…perceptive and ethical…” Lidwien Kapteijns, Department of History, Wellesley College, H-net reviews
