Kerstin Leitner has worked as a staff member of the United Nationsfor 30 years from 1975 - 2005. What makes her memoirs interesting to read is the fine combinationof practical work and reflections of why the UN is such a unique placeto work for. She shows that when working in Africa, the Arab world, China and when introducingmodern information and communication technologies globallyto the UN, things appear very similar to work in other, national andsocio-economic settings and yet they are distinctively different. MsLeitner's years with the UN span part of the Cold War era and thepost-1989 period, when only one superpower remained and the marketeconomies of the Western world began to dominate the globaleconomy. As a German, she was among the first to serve the UN afterthe two German states joined the world organization in 1973. As awoman, she was among the first generation that broke through theglass ceiling for women and rose to the senior management level.
