"Soussan landed the job of his dreams, working for the United Nations on the biggest aid program it had ever attempted. However, anyone familiar with the tales of Soussan's fellow countryman Hans Christian Andersen will expect dark truths to emerge from the most apparently innocent exteriors. Even to the cynics...this book will come as a revelation."---The Sunday Times<BR><BR>"Whomever Mr. Obama picks as his U.N. ambassador may first want to take a look at Michael Soussan's Backstabbing for Beginners."---The Wall Street Journal<BR><BR>The year is 1997. Michael Soussan, an idealistic young graduate, has recently accepted his dream job at the United Nations' Oil-for-Food Program, helping Iraqi civilians survive the impact of economic sanctions. Under conflicting guidance, he would help to oversee the use of 64 billion petrodollars against a backdrop of simmering international tension that constantly threatens to erupt into an all-out war.<BR><BR>An absolute beginner in the world of international diplomacy, Soussan finds himself embroiled in a world of spies, corrupt oil tycoons, and dysfunctional diplomats. Backstabbing for Beginners is at once an unsettling tale of one man's political coming of age, and a stinging indictment of the hypocrisy that prevailed at the heart of the United Nations.<BR><BR>"Soussan's sharp sense for detail turns what could have been a run-of-the mill scandal story into a rousing tale peppered with black humor and satirical anecdotes.... An insightful look at how even an organization like the idealistic U.N. is not immune to political hypocrisy and double dealings."---Rocky Mountain News<BR><BR>"Nobody comes off well in this disturbing, scathing memoir.... Backstabbing is a fine primer for the next U.S. representative to the U.N."--- San Diego Union-Tribune