Blue Helmet

“Blue Helmet reveals the inside story of the challenges of protecting civilians in conflict. . . . If you are passionate about the protection of civilians, this book will prove an invaluable resource—because Carpenter doesn’t just show what is wrong with existing civilian protection measures; he offers practical advice on how to fix them.”—Marc Garlasco, division chief for the U.S. Department of Defense Civilian Protection Center of Excellence “Edward Carpenter has painted a rich and incisive portrait of what it means to be a warrior on a mission of peace in Africa. Carpenter draws on the personal details of his own experience to demonstrate what kind of individual is inclined to work in such contexts, and of the impact that the mission has on the person. I learned a lot about South Sudan, but also a great deal about how peacekeeping operations function and how those who keep the peace also keep their sanity.”—Robert Farley, senior lecturer at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce and senior editor at Lawyers, Guns, and Money “Edward Carpenter’s Blue Helmet is an insider’s story about a world that most of us will never know. He has written a shocking, informative, at times hard, and yet very entertaining memoir: a human-sized portrait of a UN Peacekeeper in South Sudan. This book is a bridge between cultures, an action-packed tour, and a wise look at how countries—and the people in them—become themselves.”—Elisabeth Sharp McKetta, author of She Never Told Me about the Ocean and Awake with Asashoryu and Other Essays