| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 105.3

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 105.3 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Comparative/World

Paul Gordon Lauren. The Evolution of International Human Rights: Visions Seen. (Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights.) Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 1998. Pp. xiii, 385. Cloth $49.95, paper $29.95.

For scholars of international human rights, it is difficult to imagine a finer gift on the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights than this study of the Declaration's complex and far-reaching impact. Paul Gordon Lauren has skillfully combined a detailed history of the legal documents with the political, philosophical, and social contexts in which they developed. He has further enriched his study with the personal visions of leading individuals so that the story comes alive, unfolding with a human drama supported by meticulous scholarly research. 1

There are, of course, innumerable studies, within the field of human rights law and beyond, that offer insights into the processes that have led to contemporary understandings of human rights. The bibliography that Lauren offers reveals the extensive literature that is now available on the subject and also the great breadth of resources the author has drawn upon and reflects in this remarkable study. There is, for example, a very thoughtful cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural analysis of the roots of twentieth-century human rights norms. Lauren finds within the world's religions—including Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, and Christianity—fundamental beliefs that support the concept of non-injury to others, responsibility for those who are hungry or ill, and profound respect for the life of each person. The author concludes from his extensive readings that although societies do not all respect and share the same rights and values, "the moral worth of each person is a belief that no single civilization, or people, or nation, or geographical area, or even century can claim as uniquely its own" (p. 11). . . .

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