War on Peace
The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence
22 June 2021
Territory Rights — Worldwide including Canada, Singapore and Malaysia, but excluding the British Commonwealth.
Description
US foreign policy is undergoing a dire transformation, forever changing America’s place in the world. Institutions of diplomacy and development are bleeding out after deep budget cuts; the diplomats who make America’s deals and protect its citizens around the world are walking out in droves. Offices across the State Department sit empty, while abroad the military-industrial complex has assumed the work once undertaken by peacemakers. We’re becoming a nation that shoots first and asks questions later.
In an astonishing journey from the corridors of power in Washington, DC, to some of the most remote and dangerous places on earth—Afghanistan, Somalia, and North Korea among them—acclaimed investigative journalist Ronan Farrow illuminates one of the most consequential and poorly understood changes in American history. His firsthand experience as a former State Department official affords a personal look at some of the last standard bearers of traditional statecraft, including Richard Holbrooke, who made peace in Bosnia and died while trying to do so in Afghanistan.
Drawing on recently unearthed documents, and richly informed by rare interviews with whistle-blowers, a warlord, and policymakers—including every living former secretary of state from Henry Kissinger to Hillary Clinton to Rex Tillerson—and now updated with revealing firsthand accounts from inside Donald Trump’s confrontations with diplomats during his impeachment and candid testimonials from officials in Joe Biden’s inner circle, War on Peace makes a powerful case for an endangered profession. Diplomacy, Farrow argues, has declined after decades of political cowardice, shortsightedness, and outright malice—but it may just offer America a way out of a world at war.
Reviews
"With astonishing reporting and gripping prose, Ronan Farrow tells the powerful story of the gutting of American diplomacy…War on Peace is an indispensable and fascinating revelation of what diplomats actually do for our country and why undermining them is so dangerous. Farrow is a riveting storyteller with a great eye for colorful characters. This is one of the most important books of our time." — Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs and professor of history, Tulane
"A masterpiece….The writing sparkles." — Dan Simpson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Lively writing, astute commentary, and plenty of great stories, laced through with passion and outrage." — Rosa Brooks, Washington Post
"Will be required reading for generations to come. It is perhaps the most riveting and relatable book on foreign policy and diplomacy I have ever read." — Martha Raddatz, ABC News chief global affairs correspondent
"A big rip-roaring argument about America giving up on diplomacy.... This book will make Ronan Farrow lots more enemies.... [H]e's got a bunch of new scoops." — Rachel Maddow, The Rachel Maddow Show
"Only someone as incisive and unflinching as Farrow could have written this book—and we should all be thankful that he did. A must-read." — Ian Bremmer, editor-at-large, Time magazine
"His wry voice and storytelling take work that is often grueling and dull and make it seem…vividly human." — Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, The New York Times Book Review
"A captivating insider account of the militarization of US foreign policy.... Farrow's book sometimes reads like a spy novel." — Jonas Ecke, Global Policy Journal
"Dogged research and persuasive argument.... Farrow brings to his book astonishing access.... [He is] an indefatigable and imaginative reporter." — David Shribman, Globe and Mail
"Has the United States turned its back on diplomacy, and on its diplomats? And if so, at what cost? Farrow makes a good case that we have, and that the cost will be high.... He captures extraordinarily well what the work of diplomacy means." — Barbara K. Bodine, San Francisco Chronicle
