Outpost

Starred review from June 23, 2014
A diplomatic career spent under fire—sometimes literally—is recounted with energy and humor in this lively memoir. Hill recaps 33 years of State Department service in global hot spots: Bosnia and Kosovo, where his SUV was shot while he was at work on a peace settlements; North Korea, where he conducted high-wire nuclear disarmament negotiations; and Iraq, where his motorcade weathered an IED explosion during his as ambassador. Just as riveting are his intimate accounts of combat in the conference room; diplomats cajole and pressure one another toward compromises that depend on subtle shifts in mood and language. (He rescued one joint communiqué by replacing the phrase “peaceful coexistence” with “exist peacefully together.”) Ever attuned to personal relationships, Hill pens vivid portraits of everyone from Serbian war criminals to Mother Teresa. He includes acidulous sketches of Dick Cheney and other neo-conservatives in the George W. Bush administration, which he blames for an excessively militarized foreign policy, and a colorful appreciation of über-envoy Richard Holbrooke, a charming and manipulative “force of nature.” Written in graceful, witty prose and studded with insights into many international crises, Hill’s narrative critiques American diplomacy even as he defends its importance. Agent: David Halpern, Robbins Office.

October 1, 2014

Hill (dean, Josef Korbel Sch. of International Studies, Univ. of Denver), the son of a diplomat and a Peace Corps veteran himself, became a career diplomat who served in key hot spots around the globe and was U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia, Poland, South Korea, and Iraq, as well as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. His memoir fills a gap in diplomatic coverage of events of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Hill provides not only insight into behind-the-scenes negotiating, the bureaucracy in Washington, and key players on the world stage, but also presents an insider's view of the Balkan crisis and the current situations in Korea and Iraq. A straightforward writer and powerful storyteller, he conveys complex situations in understandable ways. With no-nonsense views on American foreign policy, the author is strongly critical of wars of choice. This engaging account includes perceptions of past presidents, vice presidents, secretaries of state, and various world leaders, in addition to illuminating portrayals of key diplomats such as Lawrence Eagleburger and Richard Holbrooke. VERDICT Highly recommended for those wishing to learn more about foreign policy, diplomacy generally, and American diplomacy from the late 1970s until 2010. [See Prepub Alert, 5/4/14.]--Leslie Lewis, Duquesne Univ. Lib., Pittsburgh

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
Hill, former ambassador to Iraq, Korea, and Macedonia, now a columnist and dean of international studies, grew up in some of the world's hot spots. A diplomat's child, Hill later served in the Peace Corps and went on to a career in the foreign service. In this engaging memoir, he offers an insider's view of foreign service, from his childhood on through his career. He recalls meetings with Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic, heading negotiations on nuclear disarmament in North Korea, and an assortment of international figures, including Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton, ambassadors Lawrence Eagleburger and Richard Holbrooke, and Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell. Hill served under three U.S. presidents and witnessed the political machinations among D.C. bureaucracies as well as the frictions on the ground in international trouble spots. In his last assignment, as ambassador to Iraq, Hill vividly describes the difficulty of settling on a common agreement and understanding of the military, monetary, civic, and political resources that were being exchanged. An enlightening look at the hard work of diplomacy through the lens of one man's career.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)