Some of the places had very active campaigns even though it seems like they were definitely behind the pack. The book is relatively short but is so richly detailed! I loved getting a behind the scenes look at the various things that were considered when the UN committee was making the decision on where it would be located. One part that I found very interesting was all of the different mock-ups for what various architects thought that the United Nations complex should look like. The design that ended up getting chosen for NYC is absolutely iconic and it's very strange to imagine anything different in another place.

I loved seeing the different designs that other places came up with. They were very interesting. I'm making my architect husband read this book next! This book will appeal to history and even some architecture lovers too! Mar 05, Jennifer rated it liked it. I knew the ending of Capital of the World. The United Nations is headquartered in New York.

See a Problem?

What I didn't know was how it ended up there. I definitely didn't know how many cities were begging for the UN to set up camp in their backyard. Some of these towns went to great lengths to lure the United Nations to their neck of the woods. Perhaps I only think they were ridiculous because I know where the UN ended up? Still, some of their shenanigans made me giggle. There were serious matters to consider. The United Nations was to be a venture that promoted peace and equality.

It wouldn't do to put the headquarters in places where equality was regularly tested. A LOT of places had troubles with that particular issue. The UN had to be fairly accessible to people from around the world. Even though San Francisco successfully hosted the charter conference of the UN, the powers that be decided that any city on the West Coast was out. This book is well researched and full of interesting historical tidbits. Entertaining and spirited, Capital of the World hits the right notes.

Mar 14, Jaylia3 rated it really liked it. Capital of the World tells that story in entertaining detail. Because of the conflicting national interests of the countries involved in the site search, and the fact that Europe was still recovering from WWII, the United States was chosen as the host country, but where in the US? With patriotism and civic pride buoyed up by the war, over hundred cities and even small towns lobbied for the honor, including the re How did the UN wind up in New York City when just about nobody wanted it there?

With patriotism and civic pride buoyed up by the war, over hundred cities and even small towns lobbied for the honor, including the remote but beautiful Black Hills area of South Dakota--my personal favorite.

While the detail is at times more than I wanted, Capital of the World is fascinating as a history of the evolving events, mindsets, and viewpoints that guided developments during the middle years of the last century. Jun 10, Margaret Sankey rated it liked it. While the actual planning of the UN proceeded in San Francisco, excited boosters began lobbying to host the permanent headquarters, a decision that spoke volumes about the post-war priorities of the US a Pacific shift? While the promoters pulled out all the available stunts and advertising tropes, there were real problems--many US cities had insufficient infrastructure, others would produce mortifying racial incidents with international visitors, While the actual planning of the UN proceeded in San Francisco, excited boosters began lobbying to host the permanent headquarters, a decision that spoke volumes about the post-war priorities of the US a Pacific shift?

The Race to Host the United Nations

While the promoters pulled out all the available stunts and advertising tropes, there were real problems--many US cities had insufficient infrastructure, others would produce mortifying racial incidents with international visitors, some were just inaccessible Sault Ste. Mires follows the memos to the eventual selection of New York, as well as the activities of the singularly ill-fated delegation pushing Rapid City, SD.

Apr 03, David R.

An almost amusing retelling of the race to site the United Nations between its chartering in and the construction of the headquarters complex in New York City in The contest, entirely unsolicited by the UN, was initially a pathetic round of invitations and tourism-board-pitches from a vast array of generally unsuitable sites. In the end, budget realities and influence politics made the An almost amusing retelling of the race to site the United Nations between its chartering in and the construction of the headquarters complex in New York City in In the end, budget realities and influence politics made the final determination.

In retrospect, it's a pretty sad commentary on the US of the time that so many had such unrealistic ideals for a "Capital of the World" that they wanted it in their own back yards. Jul 17, Jim Blessing rated it liked it Shelves: This was a mildly amusing book about the UN decision-making process in selecting a headquarter city for the new UN.

I was not familiar with this process and was amazed how many small towns and out of the way places tried to compete with larger cities to be the "Capital of the World. However, at the last minute John Rockefeller Jr at the suggestion of his son, Nelson purchased a site in NYC This was a mildly amusing book about the UN decision-making process in selecting a headquarter city for the new UN. Otherwise, it seems like Philadelphia would have been the choice. Adam Sharp rated it really liked it Jun 06, Feb 16, Rj rated it did not like it. Mandy rated it it was ok Mar 20, Chris rated it really liked it Jul 28, Howie rated it liked it Jun 11, Nowadays, many refer to New York City as the 'cultural capital of the world,' for various and obvious reasons.

Beyond the apparent diversity of its inhabitants, New York City has hosted the United Nations headquarters for over 60 years, hence the 'world capital. Philly was not only one of the hundreds competing to become this global capital, but it just about persuaded the world's diplomats to call Philadelphia home - until an unexpected turn of events. Mires has an eye for the telling vignette, a skill for plumbing the archives and interrogating the documentary and visual record, and an ability to see the large in the small and vice versa.

Although the book's accessibility is sure to gain it a wide nonacademic readership, scholars, particularly those with an interest in such topics as the United Nations, modern U. It is a story, she notes, that has been largely ignored by most previous historians of the United Nations. Mires does not limit herself to a bloodless account of bureaucratic maneuverings; instead, she embeds her narrative in a broader framework that traces the history of the international organization back to the early nineteenth century.

Based on extensive research, the book is vividly written in an accessible fashion that is suitable for a wide audience. Though a number of countries were vying for the privilege, in this well-researched tome Charlene Mires focuses on the frenzied activity in the United States.

She creates a powerful sense of suspense as she describes the intense competition among boosters from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and even the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Capital of the World: The Race to Host the United Nations by Charlene Mires

In lively and elegant prose, from the first sentence to the last, she captures the contradictory visions of the 'Capital of the World' that persisted from beginning to end. Charlene Mires, a former journalist who recognizes the extraordinary in the ordinary, leverages her skill as a public historian and expertise in material culture to tell the complicated and surprising story of the competition to select the site of UN headquarters.

By ascribing meaning to this competition rooted in the defining historical moment in which it took place, Mires offers us an innovative transnational history that provides an unexpected twist to understandings of glocalization. Writing in a decade when many Americans worry about their nation's place in the world, Mires reminds us about the excitement that the newly created United Nations generated not only in big eastern cities but also in the heartland of the Middle West and Great Plains.

Professor Mires tells the story of how the United States became the chosen nation of the location of the UN based on the history of Europe and questions of the emerging Cold War.

Capital of the World

What I found interesting was how the members of the UN finally settled on New York, despite the fact that many did not wish the UN to be in the United States and if it was not to be in a major city. The story of how San Francisco, a city close to my heart which hosted the inaugural meeting of the UN in was cut out of the running when a UN committee decided that no locations in the western part of the United States would be considered.

That decision, which was based more on European objections to the geographic location was difficult to read. The process which included geographic, political and social concerns. Politically the influence of the American government should the location be too close to Washington DC prompted conferees to seek a location at least miles from Washington.

The real effects of Racism and Jim Crow laws eliminated all Southern cities and towns south of the Mason Dixon Line from the competition. Issues regarding crime, graft and corruption eliminated Philadelphia as well as other cities leading to the eventual selection of New York as the location for the nascent United Nations. Overall I enjoyed the book. It was a quick, informative and enjoyable read.

Capital of the World: The Race to Host the United Nations

To me those are fascinating questions. What would have happened had the UN been located in San Francisco? Could it have led to the emergence of a stronger and move toward the Pacific Rim becoming the economic and political center of the world? Could the location of the UN in a place like Rapid City brought Middle America more global perspective and perhaps a larger population and economy?

Could the selection of a Southern city led to a quicker end to Jim Crow and beginning of equal rights?

Home of the United Nations: U.S. v. Europe

Those are questions for those that write alternative histories. Professor Mires work made me think of all of the possibilities that did not happen. I recommend this book for those interested in the development of the United States in the late s and early s as well as those that like to have their eyes opened to possibilities that they never before had imagined.