The Absolutely Indispensable Man: Ralph Bunche, the United Nations, and the Fight to End Empire [Hardcover]

In this political biography, Kal Raustiala tells the life story of famed diplomat, scholar, Nobel prize winner, and civil rights leader Ralph Bunche. Raustiala argues that his most lasting achievement was his work against the European empire across the globe. As a high-ranking United Nations official in the 1950s and 1960s, Bunche saw decolonization as a project of global racial justice. From marching with Martin Luther King to advising presidents and prime ministers, Bunche is one of the most prominent Black Americans of the twentieth century. This definitive biography gives him his due. It also reminds us that the end of empire had a powerful impact on America's own civil rights struggle.A wide-ranging political biography of diplomat, Nobel prize winner, and civil rights leader Ralph Bunche.Silver Medal Winner from Council on Foreign RelationsShortlisted, 2024 Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical BiographyA legendary diplomat, scholar, and civil rights leader, Ralph Bunche was one of the most prominent Black Americans of the twentieth century. The first African American to obtain a political science Ph.D. from Harvard and a celebrated diplomat at the United Nations, he was once so famous he handed out the Best Picture award at the Oscars. Yet today Ralph Bunche is largely forgotten.InThe Absolutely Indispensable Man, Kal Raustiala restores Bunche to his rightful place in history. He shows that Bunche was not only a singular figure in midcentury America; he was also one of the key architects of the postwar international order. Raustiala tells the story of Bunche's dramatic life, from his early years in prewar Los Angeles to UCLA, Harvard, the State Department, and the heights of global diplomacy at the United Nations. After narrowly avoiding assassination Bunche received the Nobel Peace Prize for his ground-breaking mediation of the first Arab-Israeli conflict, catapulting him to popular fame. A central player in some of the most dramatl³3