An astonishing memoir from the Holocaust survivor who oversaw the world’s first genocide trials and has advised the ICC on crimes in Israel and Gaza.

When the Second World War began, Theodor Meron was a Jewish-born boy of just 9. He survived ghettos, camps and unimaginable atrocities, but lost most of his family, finding sanctuary in British Palestine after the Holocaust. Now, more than eight decades later, Judge Meron is a recognised world leader in both the scholarship and practice of international criminal justice—having served as the president of three UN tribunals, delivering landmark decisions on genocide and war crimes.

This extraordinary memoir revisits Meron’s time as a legal adviser to governments, often swimming against the tide; as a restless diplomat, a boundary-pushing scholar and ultimately a ground-breaking international judge. Meron has given his life to the service of justice. He is famous for his 1967 opinion finding Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank to be illegal under international law, an opinion he issued as a legal adviser to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. More recently, he has advised the International Criminal Court on potential crimes in the Russia–Ukraine war, and in Israel and Gaza since 2023.

The founding institutions of international justice today face unprecedented threats. Meron’s life story could not be a better timed reminder of the importance of accountability.

‘Little did the Nazis know that this boy . . . would grow up to become an eminent international lawyer, driven by a lifelong desire to make it impossible for such atrocities to happen again.’ * Daily Mail *

'[Meron's] life story traces his aston­ish­ing career. Pres­id­ent of three UN tribunals, and a ground-break­ing judge in inter­na­tional crim­inal law and inter­na­tional human­it­arian law, most recently he has been advising on poten­tial war crimes in the Rus­si­a-Ukraine war and in the most recent Israel-Gaza con­flict.'

'A compelling memoir by one of the world's most inspiring lawyers and jurists. Judge Meron's moral courage in the face of personal adversity and mass atrocity crimes challenges us all to do more to serve the cause of justice.'

'Theodor Meron is one of the world's greatest living lawyers—the godfather of International Humanitarian Law, he has inspired lawyers everywhere. In this fascinating memoir, he recounts his own incredible journey. But it is love that has sustained Ted. And it is love that emanates from his life's work and from this extraordinary book about a life truly well-lived.'

 'A captivating blend of personal memoir and political history across time and place, by a jurist of the greatest integrity, courage and humanity. Read this to weep and to hope.'

Judge Theodor Meron CMG was born in Poland. As a child, he survived the Holocaust, but lost his home, most of his family, and years of freedom. In 1945 he emigrated to Mandatory Palestine. He holds law degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Harvard University and the University of Cambridge.