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A powerful case for the enduring value of diplomacy from the Director of the CIA and one of America’s most distinguished statesmen.
A New Statesman Book of the Year 2019, chosen by Ivan Krastev
Over the course of more than three decades as an American diplomat, William J. Burns played a central role in the most consequential diplomatic episodes of his time—from the bloodless end of the Cold War to the collapse of relations with Putin’s Russia, from post–9/11 tumult in the Middle East to the secret nuclear talks with Iran.
Burns draws on a treasure trove of newly declassified cables and memos to offer rare insight into US diplomacy in action. He illuminates the back channels of his profession, and its value in a world that resembles neither the zero-sum Cold War of his early career, nor the ‘unipolar moment’ of American primacy that followed.
The Back Channel recounts with vivid detail and incisive analysis the seminal moments of a legendary career and makes an eloquent and impassioned argument for diplomacy in an increasingly volatile world.
Description
A powerful case for the enduring value of diplomacy from the Director of the CIA and one of America’s most distinguished statesmen.
A New Statesman Book of the Year 2019, chosen by Ivan Krastev
Over the course of more than three decades as an American diplomat, William J. Burns played a central role in the most consequential diplomatic episodes of his time—from the bloodless end of the Cold War to the collapse of relations with Putin’s Russia, from post–9/11 tumult in the Middle East to the secret nuclear talks with Iran.
Burns draws on a treasure trove of newly declassified cables and memos to offer rare insight into US diplomacy in action. He illuminates the back channels of his profession, and its value in a world that resembles neither the zero-sum Cold War of his early career, nor the ‘unipolar moment’ of American primacy that followed.
The Back Channel recounts with vivid detail and incisive analysis the seminal moments of a legendary career and makes an eloquent and impassioned argument for diplomacy in an increasingly volatile world.
