Secretary-General 'Blue Books Series' showcases legacy of United Nations: praise for series grows as sales top 11,000.

With the publication in early 1996 of The United Nations and the Iraq-Kuwait Conflict, 1990-1996 and The United Nations and Somalia, 1990-1996, the Department of Public Information (DPI) has published, in little over a year, nine "Blue Book" titles in English (for a total of 19 when French and other official UN languages are included). Comprehensive and authoritative, the series has quickly established itself as a major component in the Department's vital work of promoting deeper understanding and support for the goals and activities of the UN. Equally significant, it is an important international publishing entreprise which any Government or publishing house would be proud of. Reflecting this recognition, more than 11,000 copies have already been sold, at a cost of between $30 and $50 each.

The primary audience for these books is the research and academic community, whose work has a central bearing on long-term thinking and policy. UN links with this important constituency have grown stronger under the tenure of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who had a distinguished career as an author and professor of law before joining the diplomatic world and who has given a scholarly hue to his period in office with his idea for, and authorship of, the Blue Books series.

A measure of the impact the series has had can be gauged from the comments of the internationally renowned law professor Philip Alston, who is Director of the Centre for International Public Law at the European University Institute in Florence: "The documents have been skilfully selected and edited and the introduction provides an excellent overview of the evolution of United Nations policy. In the absence of these volumes, it would be very difficult for the vast majority of researchers to obtain ready access to the documents collected in this series."

As Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information Samir Sanbar says: "It is not at all surprising that the Secretary-General's work on behalf of the international community should also include rigorous scholarship about the United Nations. The critical response to the series, and its impressive sales, indicates that this initiative is widely appreciated." Mr. Sanbar emphasized that although the books are aimed at specialists, they contain insights into international diplomacy and relations among nations that a wider, more general readership will also find interesting.

Each book in the series focuses on a major international...