A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

"A World Made New" isn't really about Eleanor Roosevelt, though she does have a big part in the story. Instead, the book chronicles the diplomacy that led to the 1948 adoption of the world's cornerstone human rights document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The book also analyses the Declaration's role in shaping a global "rights consciousness" that has slowly but surely had a big impact on international politics and state behavior. The writing is crisp, the story fascinating, and the legal explanations crystal-clear. It's a nifty, intelligent book. The author is a Harvard law prof who wants to teach us how to think about human rights in the modern world. She has two key messages. First, criticism that the whole notion of human rights reflects a "Western bias" is misguided; countries from around the world negotiated the Declaration, and every major rights tradition is reflected in the text. Second, the range of rights embraced by the Declaration far exceeds traditional Anglo-American notions of limited government and individual freedoms; instead, the Declaration is built on concepts of human dignity and flourishing that cannot be realized without education, health care, workplace justice, and other social protections. Editorial Comment: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has influenced constitutions and human rights laws all over the world, from South Africa and post-war Europe to emerging democracies in Latin America and the former USSR. However, it is almost unknown in the United States, despite our decisive role in its creation. Of course, Americans don't know their own Constitution, either. Given the low level of legal/rights literacy in America, it's no wonder that global human rights leadership has largely passed to other countries. A people who can't be roused by the disclosure of White House-sanctioned torture camps has no capacity to lead others on these issues.

This is a fascinating book on the formation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from a historical, political, as well as ethical perspective, and very well written. It shows the involvement of individuals from many countries, western and non-western, in the formation of this document and refutes the idea that "human rights" is strictly a western concept. I was in awe of Eleanor Roosevelt after reading the account of her multinational efforts, but also inspired by these other leaders who also made significant contributions to it's formation but who are now unknown to most.

A splendid account of Eleanor Roosevelt after FDR's death, when she was the guiding force on the UN committee that crafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration is already a foundation to a body of international human-rights law, a foundation that has steadily grown in importance over the last half century. The book does justice to it, and to her. The title is from her nightly prayer: "Our Father, who has set a restlessness in our hearts and made us all seekers after that which we can never fully find, forbid us to be satisfied with what we make of life. ... Save us from ourselves and show us a vision of a world made new." Amen.

Professor Glendon vividly and lucidly elaborates the people and events whose obscure work yielded perhaps the single most important document of the second half of the 20th Century. For those of us who are privileged to live under the blanket of freedom, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights might not be understood to be the beacon of hope and freedom that is has become to many millions around the world who live in conditions of extraordinary disadvantage. This book is a gift in that it provides with a detailed narrative of the places, people, and events which conspired to deliver the UDHR at a moment in history when it was so desperately needed.