Kofi A. Annan was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, serving two terms from January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2006, and was the first to emerge from the ranks of UN staff. In 2001 Kofi Annan and the United Nations were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, with the citation praising his leadership for "bringing new life to the organization."

Introduction Chapter 1. The United Nations * The Legacy of Dag Hammarskjold * A Girl Born Today in Afghanistan * Unhealable Wounds: The Colleagues We Lost in Iraq * Pushing Rocks to the Top of the Mountain * Five Lessons Chapter 2. Development and the Global Community * The Emerging Power of Civil Society * A Global Compact with Business * Peace and Development * Global Market, Global Values * We the Peoples * Leadership is Coming from Women * Climate Change-An All-Encompassing Threat Chapter 3. Peace and Security * Preventing Deadly Conflict * The Use of Force * Cool and Reasoned Judgement * The Importance of Multilateralism * A Fork in the Road * Democracy, Terrorism, and Security * Non-Proliferation and Disarmament-Two Sides of a Coin Chapter 4. Human Rights * Against Racism * "The Very Heart of the UN's Mission" * "The Battle Is Never Finally Won" Chapter 5. Peacekeeping and Peaccebuilding * Swords into Ploughshares: The 50th Anniversary of UN Peacekeeping * What We Have Learnt Chapter 6. Africa * Africa's Third Wave * AIDS and Africa's Future * From OAU to African Union * An Exciting Time to Be an African Chapter 7. The Middle East * Israel and the United Nations * Following Sadat's Example * The Tragedy of Lebanon * Not Just a Regional Conflict Chapter 8. Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect * The International Criminal Court * On Intervention * An Emerging Norm * Two Concepts of Sovereignty * An Action Plan to Prevent Genocide * Remembering the Holocaust Chapter 9. The Value of Diversity * A Dialogue among and within Societies * Unity in Diversity * "The Faith We Must Have in Each Other" * "Naming Evil" * "A Small Confession"