The InterDependent

For insiders, the volumes of the Yearbook of the United Nations have always been a treasury of information. The annual Yearbook details all the activities of the UN for the respective year in summarizing thematic chapters and includes the full texts of all major resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council.

Now the latest edition, covering 2007, has come out. Beside the hardcover edition and a pdf download version, which can both be bought at the United Nations Publications Web site (https://unp.un.org/), the most interesting feature is a new e-book edition available in digital format for the Kindle, iBookstore, Nook and Sony Reader as well as applications for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. (For more information on prices and other details, go to https://unp.un.org/MobileApps.aspx)

Making the yearbook takes time: the publisher, the United Nations Department of Public Information, has first to wait for the reports from the different UN departments and offices and then edits them and prepares the layout for the voluminous text of 1,600-plus pages. All together, it is about a three-year process between the events and final publication.

Fully indexed, this Yearbook includes not only the texts of all major resolutions and decisions, but also information on conflicts in Afghanistan, Central Africa and Darfur, as well as instability in the Middle East and challenges posed by poverty, gender inequality, uneven development, climate change and terrorism. It is considered the most authoritative reference work on the UN and a practical starting point for students for research or for activities of Model UN groups.

While the book has been published for decades only as a hardcover, in the last 10 years it has been available on CDs; volumes covering the years 1946 till 2005 are available at no charge at http://unyearbook.un.org/index.html.