Category Archives: Book Notes

Pompeo Calls Former NSA John Bolton a “Traitor” on Twitter, in Official Statement, Also Waves @MerriamWebster

June 19, 2020 By in Book Notes, Hall of Shame, Media, Mike Pompeo, Political Appointees, Pompeo, Secretary of State, State Department, Trump Tags: ,

 

John Kerry: Every Day Is Extra (Book Preview)

October 17, 2018 By in Book Notes, John F. Kerry, Secretary of State, Senators, State Department Tags: ,

Via Amazon:

John Kerry tells the story of his remarkable American life—from son of a diplomat to decorated Vietnam veteran, five-term United States senator, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, and Secretary of State for four years—a revealing memoir by a witness to some of the most important events of our recent history.

Every Day Is Extra is John Kerry’s candid personal story. A Yale graduate, Kerry enlisted in the US Navy in 1966, and served in Vietnam. He returned home highly decorated but disillusioned, and testified powerfully before Congress as a young veteran opposed to the war.

Kerry served as a prosecutor in Massachusetts, then as lieutenant governor, and was elected to the Senate in 1984, eventually serving five terms. In 2004 he was the Democratic presidential nominee and came within one state—Ohio—of winning. Kerry returned to the Senate, chaired the important Foreign Relations Committee, and succeeded Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State in 2013. In that position he tried to find peace in the Middle East; dealt with the Syrian civil war while combatting ISIS; and negotiated the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement.

Every Day Is Extra is Kerry’s passionate, insightful, sometimes funny, always moving account of his life. Kerry tells wonderful stories about colleagues Ted Kennedy and John McCain, as well as President Obama and other major figures. He writes movingly of recovering his faith while in the Senate, and deplores the hyper-partisanship that has infected Washington.

Few books convey as convincingly as this one the life of public service like that which John Kerry has lived for fifty years. Every Day Is Extra shows Kerry for the dedicated, witty, and authentic man that he is, and provides forceful testimony for the importance of diplomacy and American leadership to address the increasingly complex challenges of a more globalized world.

 

Wendy Sherman: Not for the Faint of Heart (Book Preview)

October 9, 2018 By in Ambassadors, Book Notes, State Department Tags: ,

Via Amazon

Wendy Sherman has become best known as the United States’ lead negotiator on the multilateral Iran Nuclear Deal from 2015, but has had a long and distinguished career as a diplomat since she joined the State Department in 1993. By the end of the Clinton administration, she was a key aide to secretary of state Madeleine Albright. She was named special advisor to President Clinton and policy coordinator on North Korea, managing, among other special assignments, negotiations with Pyongyang on nuclear nonproliferation.

With Albright, Sherman cofounded the advisory firm Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington before returning to the State Department as undersecretary for political affairs in 2011. She spent the following four years pursuing the nuclear agreement with Iran while overseeing the bureaus for Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, the Near East, South and Central Asia, the Western Hemisphere, and International Organizations.

“A powerful, deeply personal, and absorbing book written by one of America’s smartest and most dedicated diplomats. This tale of courage and persistence will inspire readers of all backgrounds, while giving them unparalleled insights into some of the most critical issues of our time.”―Madeleine K. Albright, 64th U.S. Secretary of State

“Wendy doesn’t just write about the value of courage, power, and persistence, she lives it. She’s an example that a strong negotiator can also be a humane mentor. Her work helped prevent a war and a stop a nuclear arms race. As someone who has been privileged to be Wendy’s teammate and even more grateful to remain her friend, I know every reader will learn much from her story but even more from her example.”―John Kerry, 68th U.S. Secretary of State and author of Every Day Is Extra

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Amb. Prudence Bushnell: Terrorism, Betrayal and Resilience (Book Preview)

October 2, 2018 By in AF |Africa, Ambassadors, Book Notes, Diplomatic Attacks, Diplomatic History, Foreign Service, FSOs, Realities of the FS, State Department, Terrorism, U.S. Missions Tags: , , ,

 

 

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ADST-DACOR Book Launch: Amb. Prudence Bushnell’s Account of the 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings

September 24, 2018 By in AF |Africa, Ambassadors, Book Notes, Diplomatic Attacks, Diplomatic History, FSOs, Realities of the FS, State Department, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , , ,

Ambassador Prudence Bushnell’s book, Terrorism, Betrayal, and Resilience: My Story of the 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings will be available on October 1. On October 2, ADST-DACOR will hold a book launch at the DACOR Bacon House. This is the 65th volume in the ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Series.

Date: October 2
Time: 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
To RSVP please email: programs@dacorbacon.org if you plan to attend the reception (free of charge)

Via Amazon: On August 7, 1998, three years before President George W. Bush declared the War on Terror, the radical Islamist group al-Qaeda bombed the American embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, where Prudence Bushnell was serving as U.S. ambassador. Terrorism, Betrayal, and Resilience is her account of what happened, how it happened, and its impact twenty years later.

When the bombs went off in Kenya and neighboring Tanzania that day, Congress was in recess and the White House, along with the entire country, was focused on the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Congress held no hearings about the bombings, the national security community held no after-action reviews, and the mandatory Accountability Review Board focused on narrow security issues. Then on September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacked the U.S. homeland and the East Africa bombings became little more than an historical footnote.

Terrorism, Betrayal, and Resilience is Bushnell’s account of her quest to understand how these bombings could have happened given the scrutiny bin Laden and his cell in Nairobi had been getting since 1996 from special groups in the National Security Council, the FBI, the CIA, and the NSA. Bushnell tracks national security strategies and assumptions about terrorism and the Muslim world that failed to keep us safe in 1998 and continue unchallenged today. In this hard-hitting, no-holds-barred account she reveals what led to poor decisions in Washington and demonstrates how diplomacy and leadership going forward will be our country’s most potent defense.

“Ambassador Prudence Bushnell is a true professional with the toughness, grit, courage, and compassion that marks the kind of superb leader you want in charge during a crisis. I witnessed her remarkable composure, even when personally injured, and her take-command leadership style. This book is important for many reasons. It vividly presents a profile in courage; an understanding rarely appreciated about our foreign service men and women working in difficult assignments; a set of valuable lessons learned; and a case study in leadership during crisis. Every American should read this book.”—Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)

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Michael McFaul: From Cold War to Hot Peace (Book Excerpt)

September 14, 2018 By in Ambassadors, Book Notes, Foreign Affairs, State Department, U.S. Missions Tags: , , ,

Via Amazon:

MICHAEL McFAUL is professor of political science, director and senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He served for five years in the Obama administration, first at the White House as special assistant to the president and senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs at the National Security Council, then as U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation. Dr. McFaul is also an analyst for NBC News and a contributing columnist to the Washington Post. He has authored or coauthored several books, including Russia’s Unfinished Revolution: Political Change from Gorbachev to Putin. Dr. McFaul was born and raised in Montana. He received his B.A. in international relations and Slavic languages and his M.A. in Soviet and East European studies from Stanford University, then completed his D. Phil. in international relations at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

“Mike McFaul has lived history. In this terrific book, he recounts a pivotal time in U.S.-Russian relations, bringing the perspective of a central participant and one of America’s finest scholars of Russian politics. This book will be valued by students, experts, historians and diplomats for years to come. It is a good read and an invaluable contribution at a crucial time.” —Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State under George W. Bush (2005-2009)

“As both a first-hand observer and a key participant in many of the recent events that have shaped US-Russia relations, Ambassador McFaul has an important story to tell. From Cold War to Hot Peace is a gripping and intensely personal account of one of the most complex and consequential geopolitical developments of our time.” —Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State under Bill Clinton (1997-2001)

“This is an indispensable book for understanding the threat our country faces from Vladimir Putin’s Russia. McFaul is a candid and insightful guide to the history, personalities, and politics that continue to shape one of America’s most consequential relationships.” —Hillary Rodham Clinton, former Secretary of State under Barack Obama (2009-2013)

“Mike McFaul gives us a broad, thoughtful analysis of a critical shift in world affairs. Read From Cold War to Hot Peace for timely, informative, and intriguing insights on changing US-Russia relations.” —George P. Shultz, former Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan (1982-1989)

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Bob Woodward’s ‘Fear: Trump in the White House’ (Excerpt)

September 11, 2018 By in Book Notes, Trump, US Presidents Tags: , , , ,

Via Amazon: Bob Woodward is an associate editor at The Washington Post, where he has worked for forty-seven years. He has shared in two Pulitzer Prizes, first for the Post’s coverage of the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein, and second in 2003 as the lead reporter for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has authored or coauthored eighteen books, all of which have been national nonfiction bestsellers. Twelve of those have been #1 national bestsellers.

With authoritative reporting honed through eight presidencies from Nixon to Obama, author Bob Woodward reveals in unprecedented detail the harrowing life inside President Donald Trump’s White House and precisely how he makes decisions on major foreign and domestic policies. Woodward draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, personal diaries, files and documents. The focus is on the explosive debates and the decision-making in the Oval Office, the Situation Room, Air Force One and the White House residence.

Fear is the most intimate portrait of a sitting president ever published during the president’s first years in office.

“I think you’ve always been fair.”—President Donald J. Trump, in a call to Bob Woodward, August 14, 2018

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Ronan Farrow: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence

May 7, 2018 By in Book Notes, Diplomacy, Foreign Service, Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State, State Department Tags: , ,

Courtesy of Amazon Kindle/Preview:

Also this –following 14 months of Hurricane Rex, Tillerson apparently finally admitted to “maybe I was just too inexperienced” thingy.

Just “maybe”?

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