Everyone knows about the UN and some of its agencies. Not everyone knows how the UN operates and what it is like to work for it. Jack Chieh-Sheng Ling was one of the earliest staff serving the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). He weaves a vivid memoir of his experiences and achievements with colleagues at UNICEF during its formative years.
Founded right after WWII in 1946, UNICEF developed well beyond the limited resources at its disposal, such that in 1965 it became one of the first UN organizations to win a Nobel Prize. Jack Ling shares about his intensive field work, detailing how he won donations from Japanese enterprises which had recovered from the war but still lacked self-confidence, and how he helped promote UNICEF's programs collaborating with Marlon Brando, Liv Ullmann, and other such superstars. He recounts successes as well as mistakes learned from his years of experience with the international community. Anyone interested in the United Nations, its inner workings and what a career with the UN involves, will find this an invaluable resource and a captivating read.

Born in a bourgeois family in Shanghai in 1930, Jack Chieh-Sheng Ling grew up in the city’s French concession. In 1949, with the raging civil war interrupting his studies, he moved to Hong Kong where he met his future wife, and secured the opportunity to join the UN. He then embarked on a 30+ year career devoted to the UN. In his last years in the UN, he served as high-rank directorate of WHO. He joined Tulane University's faculty after retiring from UN, but remained active in the UN's consultant commission for many years. He currently lives in New York with his wife.