Blue Helmet - Edward H Carpenter
Each month on LibraryThing, an 'Early Reviewers' list is posted with books that you can win, in return for reviewing them. I have occasionally won eBooks to review through this format, and although the eBook format is not my favourite, I realise that being in New Zealand means that I'm less likely to win physical books. Indeed, usually physical books that are a part of the 'Early Reviewers' list are simply listed as 'Not Available in Your Country.'
Towards the end of last year, however, I noticed that a physical book was available in my home country! It looked interesting, so I put my name into the draw for it, despite the fact that with only a handful of copies available, over 100 people had registered interest.
Lo and behold, I won it! And after waiting about eight weeks (international postage takes time) it finally arrived! And this is that book!
Aside from being the first physical book I have won on LibraryThing, it is also the first non-fiction book I have won... and it is not a light topic!
Have you ever looked at international news headlines and thought, 'I wonder how effective the UN actually is?' Author and US Marine Edward H Carpenter spent a year in South Sudan as a UN Peacekeeper, in a sort of 'middle management' position. During his time there, he was responsible for strategising to help the mission run effectively, writing plans and suggestions that were then fed up to those in charge.
As the book thoroughly and depressingly illustrates, the UN - at least as far as South Sudan is concerned - is not very effective. Good intentions abound, and some progress is made, but whenever things get a bit tricky politically (read: human rights are going to be violated, and by violated, read: mass murder is about to take place), it seems that the default position is for the UN to withdraw its troops from the area in question and wait for everything to blow over.
Now, this (as Carpenter himself admits) is the perspective of one person, and as Blue Helmet comes into its home stretch, we learn that Carpenter is also suffering from PTSD and a variety of things that could cause him to be a bit more pessimistic, but the book is very well supported statistically and factually; Carpenter even quotes various bits of email correspondence verbatim to prove his points. Certain individuals receive a lot of scorn, in particular the SRSG (Special Representative of the Secretary-General) of the mission while Carpenter was there, a New Zealander named David Shearer, whom I remember from his brief stint as the leader of the NZ Labour Party!
In reading other Early Reviewer reviews (not something I usually do before posting my own) I notice that some criticise the amount of statistics in the book, instead finding more enjoyment from Carpenter's personal anecdotes, including his (somewhat surprising) number of romantic entanglements. In my own opinion, the complete opposite is true: I found the thorough statistics a powerful support of the argument of the book, and the personal romances a little distracting. So, take from that what you will!
Overall, I found Blue Helmet to be fascinating, if slightly depressing, reading. Carpenter is not all doom-and-gloom, pointing out things he feels the UN has done well and even providing his own recommendations about ways to fix the issue. The book is well-written, with short bite-sized chapters making it easier to pick up and put down if you need a break.
It also feels sadly timely, with so many conflicts around the world seeming to earn nothing from the UN except a disapproving tut-tut and meaningless rhetoric. If this wasn't the case, I would probably give the book a four-star rating (on LibraryThing, which has a star-rating system), but because of its importance, I am bumping it up to a five.
A powerful way to start the New Year.
Completed 3 January 2026.
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