Most popular histories see the UN as a 20th century invention created in the shadow of the Second World War, but the roots of the international body can be traced back to much earlier sources. The UN is based on at least two large ethical beliefs, that peace is better than war and that all human beings have equal rights. Both beliefs are enshrined in its two founding documents, the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This book tells the story of how both documents came to be and explains why the UN today is interested not just in resolving conflicts but in shaping a more...