Under the Blue Beret: A U.N. Peacekeeper in the Middle East

Burke (Cold War Soldier) takes readers on a multi-sensory peacekeeping tour that will leave them alternately laughing and crying. He narrates his military service as a Canadian U.N. peacekeeper in Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria and Israel, sparing no details, whether it's of the carnage wrought by a Cypriot minefield or a weeks' worth of greasy food at an observation post in southern Lebanon. With candor and more than a touch of self-deprecation, Burke supplies an insider's perspective of U.N. peacekeeping missions. Readers go from the "Green Line" in Cyprus, complete with a nightly check of his sleeping bag for rodents, snakes, and spiders; back to Canada, where the FLQ Crisis is in full swing; on to Cyprus again, this time to clear minefields; and then back over the Atlantic, before taking on a troubled trio of countries%E2%80%94Israel, Syria and Lebanon. Ornery commanding officers, bookish marines and unassuming sadists make this a colorful tour. Burke's descriptions of the interactions between the peacekeepers are fascinating and give a personal feel to the massive operation that is the U.N. This is a real, humbling, hilarious and poignant memoir by a veteran, giving readers a minute idea of what soldiers sacrifice to promote peace and stability. (Aug.)