PEACEKEEPER: THE ROAD TO SARAJEVO.

Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1993. 345 pp, large 8vo (9 1/4" H). Map endpapers, b&w photographs, maps. "Brave, tough, resourceful, and, rarest of all, blessed with an irreverent sense of humour, (Major-General Lewis) MacKenzie needed all those qualities for the biggest assignment of his military career: striving for peace among the warring factions in the former Yugoslavia. In this riveting memoir, MacKenzie describes how he created Sector Sarajevo, and with a 30-nation UN force set out to liberate the airport to receive desperately needed food and medical supplies. MacKenzie's outstanding and unorthodox leadership catapulted him to the status of an international celebrity, as he used the media - 'the only weapon I had' - to maximum advantage. Against the daily drama of shelling, sabotage, murder and shameless propaganda, motivated by ethnic hatreds, MacKenzie's adventures in Sarajevo read like a war novel - except that it is all tragically true. With the verve of a natural storyteller, (he) also recounts the often bizarre highlights of eight previous peacekeeping tours in the Middle East, Cyprus and Vietnam. From bluffing his way through the Turkish-Cypriot lines to boisterous forays into Saigon's netherworld; from basketball in the Gaza Strip to dodging sniper fire in Sarajevo; from daring diplomatic improvisations to bluntly outspoken criticisms of the UN bureaucracy: here is a veteran peackeeper's frank, funny and unforgettable story." Slight bump at bottom of spine with a tiny tear at bottom of rear hinge. Dust jacket has minor rubbing, minor crease at bottom of front flap.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good+.