Dunant's Dream: War, Switzerland, and the History of the Red Cross

This book is definitely an investment of time and energy at over 700 pages long. However, depending on your interest level, it may be worth it. I decided to read this book after going through my volunteer and instructor training with the American Red Cross. I wanted to understand the history, culture, and development of the international Red Cross organization and "movement" as well as the issues it faces in dealing with wars and disasters. This book definitely did not disappoint. It offers a fascinating look at the founding of the organization as well as an in-depth look at its work in a variety of world conflicts. The focus is mostly on its work in war vs. in natural disasters, including World War I and II, Korea, Biafra, Cambodia, and others. The author admits in her introduction that there are many conflicts that are not covered. Vietnam is left out, Latin America is barely touched on, and there is only one chapter that deals specifically with the American Red Cross (in its early years). However, this book definitely provides an overview and concrete examples of the moral, ethical, political, and logistical issues this organization faces. Moorehead is indeed a good writer, but her work definitely alternates between engaging and overdone. Some chapters are so fascinating that the reading is effortless, while in just a few instances she provides too many minor details that can bog the reader down. But on the whole, her book was very enjoyable despite its length. It definitely left a hunger for more on the Red Cross' encounters in other world conflicts as well as in natural disasters. It might have been worthwhile for Moorehead to separate the book into two volumes, but that is of course the author's choice. Regardless, I feel I have been offered a unique glimpse into the Red Cross and international issues by reading this book.

I am named after my aunt, a Red Cross nurse who was an Army nurse in World War II. I am also a nurse (and also a Red Cross nursing volunteer, although I have never worked full time for the organization), and a former officer in the Navy Nurse Corps. My speciality is international health; my work has taken me to some of the poorest and least developed places in the world. I have seen first-hand the work of the Red Cross in war zones and after natural disasters. I currently work in a human rights organization. I recently visited the ICRC Headquarters in Geneva, along with its spectacular museum. All this is to say that I bring more than an casual perspective to this book--and it dazzled me. Despite its incredible length, it felt too short. Ms. Moorehead writes lucidly, compassionately, and well. Her research is scholarly, her documentation is meticulous, her compassion and her critical abilities are always evident. She rightfully praises the individual courage of the Red Cross founders and leaders (not only Dunant, the Swiss banker, but the other significant figures in Red Cross history, including the American nurse, Clara Barton, who founded the American Red Cross and pioneered its role in natural disasters).But the book is not just an encomium to the good deeds of idealists. Moorehead is frank in her appraisals of the weaknesses and foibles of both the people and the organization itself. She examines the evolving role of the Red Cross, which began as an adjunct to the gentlemanly wars of the 19th century, grew to a worldwide relief agency in the unimaginable horrors of the 20th century and, most recently, has had to become a competitor for the world's glory in humantarian activities. Most importantly, she examines the historical record and the ethical dilemnas of an organization which was founded on the Swiss principles of neutrality and quiet diplomacy and was then faced with atrocities in its own back yard: she provides a very careful appraisal of the role of the Red Cross during the WWII Holocaust. It is clear that the Red Cross as an organization provided too little aid to the victims of Nazis, gave it too late and perhaps gave it for the wrong reasons--publicity rather than compassion. (A horrendous, but little known, fact is that the physician who was appointed head of the German Red Cross by Hitler was behind the savage medical experimentation done in the camps. He committed suicide before he could be tried as a war criminal). Nonetheless, Moorehead is unstinting in her admiration for those individual Red Cross delegates whose independent actions were able to save thousands of Jews and others. There were Red Cross delegates who raced along lines of Jews being forcibly marched to their deportation and death, desperately throwing them food and attempting to rescue anyone they could by bribing, cajoling or fooling the guards. Moorehead depicts the failures and the multitudinous successes of the Red Cross, and includes enough i

This book is not for the faint of heart. It is a hefty seven hundred page epic. However, I found the book spellbinding and finished reading it in less than three weeks time. I would especially recommend DUNANT'S DREAM to those interested in human rights or history. Caroline Morehead is a gifted writer who balances objectivity with revealing glimpses at the men and women who have made the International Committee of the Red Cross the premier human rights and relief agency in the world. I came away from Morehead's book with a clearer understanding of the complex circumstances involving humanitarianism during times of conflict and turmoil. I am sorry that this very worthwhile book is now out of print. However, I am glad that is available in libraries and through "out of print" dealers.