We have all seen press and television pictures of winding lines of refugees in Africa or on mountain passes in Europe and felt that 'something must be done'. In this urgent new book William Shawcross reveals what lies behind decisions by the 'international community' to intervene in a situation on humanitarian grounds, and what happens when the troops and aid agencies move in. It is a story of noble aspirations and often ignoble real politik. To tell the story of international peacekeeping in the last ten years Shawcross has travelled to the war zones and talked to global policy-makers, leading diplomats and key humanitarian aid officials in Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo, Somalia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and East Timor.