The end of the cold war and the loosening grip of superpower influence resulted in the proliferation of political, ethnic, tribal and religious rivalries. Border disputes, civil war and ethnic conflicts contributed to a decade of widespread forced displacement of people. Sadako Ogata was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1990 to 2000. In this, her first-hand account of her UN experience, she focuses on the scene of four crises in which she directed relief - Northern Iraq, the Balkans, the African Great Lakes region and Afghanistan. These stories reveal the complex, strategic negotiations between military operations, diplomatic action and humanitarian relief. In his foreword, Kofi Annan calls the book [a] compelling memoir [that] recounts the successes and failures of the international community in responding to human catastrophe and an enriching guide to our responses in the future.