This book is the first complete biography of Raphael Lemkin, the father of the United Nations Genocide Convention, based on his papers; and shows how his campaign for an international treaty succeeded. In addition, the book covers Lemkin's inauguration of the historical study of past genocides.
"The strength of Cooper's book is its detail on Lemkin's role in fostering an international treaty on genocide. Cooper makes good use of British Foreign Office material and of Lemkin's autobiographical writings. He juxtaposes material from official proceedings and Lemkin's own to illustrate the backstory, giving us a vivid picture of the scope and importance of Lemkin's contributions. ... Cooper's book gives a reader insight into the intellectual and political work that brought these mechanisms into being." (John B. Quigley, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Vol. 31 (5), 2017)