To End a War

Zusatztext 90534028 Informationen zum Autor Richard Holbrooke Klappentext When President Clinton sent Richard Holbrooke to Bosnia as America's chief negotiator in late 1995, he took a gamble that would eventually redefine his presidency. But there was no saying then, at the height of the war, that Holbrooke's mission would succeed. The odds were strongly against it. As passionate as he was controversial, Holbrooke believed that the only way to bring peace to the Balkans was through a complex blend of American leadership, aggressive and creative diplomacy, and a willingness to use force, if necessary, in the cause for peace. This was not a universally popular view. Resistance was fierce within the United Nations and the chronically divided Contact Group, and in Washington, where many argued that the United States should not get more deeply involved. This book is Holbrooke's gripping inside account of his mission, of the decisive months when, belatedly and reluctantly but ultimately decisively, the United States reasserted its moral authority and leadership and ended Europe's worst war in over half a century. To End a War reveals many important new details of how America made this historic decision. What George F. Kennan has called Holbrooke's "heroic efforts" were shaped by the enormous tragedy with which the mission began, when three of his four team members were killed during their first attempt to reach Sarajevo. In Belgrade, Sarajevo, Zagreb, Paris, Athens, and Ankara, and throughout the dramatic roller-coaster ride at Dayton, he tirelessly imposed, cajoled, and threatened in the quest to stop the killing and forge a peace agreement. Holbrooke's portraits of the key actors, from officials in the White House and the Élysée Palace to the leaders in the Balkans, are sharp and unforgiving. His explanation of how the United States was finally forced to intervene breaks important new ground, as does his discussion of the near disaster in the early period of the implementation of the Dayton agreement. To End a War is a brilliant portrayal of high-wire, high-stakes diplomacy in one of the toughest negotiations of modern times. A classic account of the uses and misuses of American power, its lessons go far beyond the boundaries of the Balkans and provide a powerful argument for continued American leadership in the modern world. The Most Dangerous Road in Europe (August 15-21, 1995) For all of us there is a twilight zone between history and memory; between the past as a generalized record which is open to relatively dispassionate inspection and the past as a remembered part of, or background to, one's own life. --ERIC HOBSBAWM, The Age of Empire: 1875-1914 THE MOUNT IGMAN ROUTE TO SARAJEVO was often described as the most dangerous road in Europe. Parts of the road, a narrow, winding red-dirt track originally used only by farmers and shepherds, were controlled by Serb machine gunners, who regularly shot at U.N. vehicles trying to reach the Bosnian capital. The roadbed itself had little foundation and no reinforcement along its sides, and in several of its narrower sections it was difficult for two cars to pass other. The wreckage of vehicles that had slid off the road or been hit by Serb gunners littered the steep slopes and ravines. In the summer of 1995, however, with the airport closed by Serb artillery, the two-hour drive over Mount Igman was the only way to reach Sarajevo without going through Bosnian Serb lines. The chief European negotiator, Carl Bildt of Sweden, had been shot at as he crossed Serb territory only weeks earlier. He urged us not to use the Igman road. But without visiting Bosnia's beleaguered capital we could not carry out our mission. On August 15, we made our first attempt, taking a United Nations helicopter from the Croatian coastal town of Split to a landing zone high on Mount Igman, after which we w...

In Selecting To End a War as one of the 11 Best Books of the Year, The New York Times wrote:

"Diplomacy is the grungiest job... But it must be satisfying because this enthralling book is also a heartfelt call to America to use its power when societies break down and to become a steady global force resisting human rights abuses everywhere. It is filled with anecdotes and sharp pictures of the wily Balkan leaders Holbrooke had to deal with, as well as with shrewd and seldom flattering analyses of the personalities and motivations of timid American and NATO military commanders... His recreation of battles over principle and tactics with Western generals and State Department and White House officials are dramatic and his description of a rudderless Administration during the early days of his efforts is astonishingly candid, and convincing. His combativeness may offend the pinstripe set, but it is wonderfully refreshing on the page. It is a very rare book on diplomacy that makes you feel you were in the midst of it, and excited to be there."
--The New York Times Book Review


MORE PRAISE FOR To End A War:

"One of the most important and readable diplomatic memoirs of recent times... His account should restore some respect to the much maligned art of diplomacy."
--The Washington Post

"A compelling account of a life-and-death negotiation -- the personal dynamics, the theatrical gestures, the unexpected snags, the leaks... A classic exercise in lock-up, great power diplomacy. To End a War is a riveting book."
--Time

"Holbrooke is brilliant, forceful, determined, focused... In his intuitive feel for the realities of power diplomacy and his strategic vision, he is the heir to Henry Kissinger in American diplomacy."
--The New York Post

"Of all the many excellent books that have been written on Bosnia, To End A War may turn out to be the most important. Holbrooke has written a superb book, one that is clear and honest... Bosnia needed a Holbrooke; perhaps more importantly, so did Washington, if it was to redeem its besmirched honor."
--Michael Elliott, Newsweek

"Easily the best book of recent years on how to carry off a diplomatic negotiation... We can only hope that the White House, Congress and the public are listening, and that generations of Americans will read Holbrooke's book."
--The Philadelphia Inquirer

"A natural writer, Holbrooke uses poetic license to dramatize events into an absorbing read. We have him bluffing, shouting at, or cursing Balkan politicians, negotiating deals of great consequence on the fly, stitching things together as he goes along."
--The Boston Globe

"A roller-coaster ride, from the driver's seat... The going is rambunctious and fascinating."
--Foreign Affairs

"A bravura performance, fascinating, informative and powerfully argued."
--The New Republic

"Richard Holbrooke is the Quentin Tarantino of diplomacy... peppered with amusing anecdotes and shrewd insights."
--The Economist

"To End a War should be read by anyone who still believes that the relationship between the United States military and its political overseers is healthy."
--Thomas E. Ricks, The Washington Monthly

"The first detailed insider account of foreign policy battles in the Clinton Presidency. An unsettling, prophetic book."
--Jim Hoagland, The Washington Post

"Riveting and forthright... Holbrooke's memoir is both highly literate and informed, as well as notably readable. It is steeped in the tradition of diplomatic memoirs by eminent diplomatauthors such as Henry Kissinger and Harold Nicolson."
--Kirkus Review (starred)

"A penetrating portrait of modern diplomacy... essential for understanding how American power can be brought to bear on the course of history."
--Publishers Weekly

"Holbrooke on Bosnia is legendary."
--The Ch…

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