Despite living in a new century, we still live on a troubled planet, war-torn by ethnic divisions and oppressive politics despite attempts to create an international code of law to maintain peace.  Whilst we have not yet faced a Third World War, what this second edition of Crimes Of War reveals is that war still ravages this planet like a bush fire which refuses to burn out.

Designed as a reference book with subjects arranged in alphabetical order, it attempts to catalogue modern warfare as well as provide definitions for acts of war as recognised by international law, explaining crimes against humanity and peace.  There's well-researched features on the savage barbarity of places such as Rwanda, Croatia and Darfur, defining the conditions which led to the atrocities and how the international forces responded or politicians failed to react.  However there are also explanations for Detention and Interrogation, Terrorism, Genocide, the Red Cross, and Death Squads. The ongoing troubles of the Middle East are explored in articles on the Iran-Iraq War or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with factual events married to human rights issues.  It all makes a sobering read and generates a whole wealth of feelings, a desperate need to learn from the past and a continual fight against the monsters of warfare. By referencing so much of the darker events in the world, it helps fuel an urgency to keep the issues in a public debate.

The editors are highly regarded authorities in their field - Roy Gutman, David Reiff and Anthony Dworkin - and their expertise gives the book a level-headed voice of gravitas and passion.  They have also commissioned articles from international reporters such as BBC's Jeremy Bowen and Elizabeth Rubin, who witnessed many of the these events first-hand or journalists such as Ed Vulliamy and Dana Priest. All photographs add to the Poignancy of certain events, with contributions from Annie Leibovitz, Sebatao Salgrado and Gilles Carron, who disappeared during the Vietnam conflict.

The first edition had been published in time for the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Convention, but this new volume takes into account all the major events that have happened primarily since 9/11.  Crimes Of War 2.0  may not be designed to be read from cover to cover, but its weighty collection of essays are essential reading for anyone who wants to understand humanitarian laws of war and more importantly, for everyone who believes we live in a more peaceful, tolerant time.