Our Man

Richard Holbrooke has always been a man of grand ambitions and bold ideas. In this sweeping biography, Pulitzer Prize-winner David Halberstam tells the story of his subject's rise to national prominence from his early days in Vietnam as a young Foreign Service officer to his unexpected appointment as special envoy to the Balkans, where he implemented the peace settlements that ended the bloody conflicts that tore apart Europe for forty years. A complex, contradictory figure, Holbrooke was known for his impeccable sense of style and even more for his penchant for putting personal ambition before diplomatic discipline. Whether it was arguing for the importance of public relations in American foreign policy or proclaiming himself a War Power president--a position he never actually attained--Holbrooke believed in America's ability to lead the world with force and diplomacy. And he saw war as an essential tool in maintaining American dominance. While shedding light on this larger-than-life personality and his unique place in American society and politics, Halberstam also offers an intimate portrait of a commonplace man prey to human frailties like impatience, arrogance, and self-delusion.