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• I knew of Richard Holbrooke only by name - this book did an excellent job of fleshing out his character and putting him into his historical context. I was left aghast at some of his behaviour but it makes for a cracking read.

• Dieses Buch ist sehr interessant und hilft zumindest etwas zu verstehen wie unsere heutige Weltordnung zustande gekommen und welche Menschen beteiligt waren, diese so zu gestalten. Natürlich ist es eine westlich zentrierte amerikanische Ansicht, nichtsdestotrotz zeigt dieses Buch die Stärken sowie die Schwächen der amerikanischen Diplomatie/Politik auf. Wer die Welt verstehen möchte empfehle ich dieses Buch

• If you happen to be a friend who trusts my advice, be certain to enjoy the pleasures from devouring Our Man. You’ll receive immense satisfaction on many levels. If you don’t know me, I offer you three ways to build your own conviction this book is one you’ve been searching for. The most resounding endorsement I’ve read in the Sunday New York Times Book Review in years appeared in its cover story of last May 6th, written by none other than Walter Isaacson. I won’t summarize, just quote a few lines of his unqualified enthusiasm: ‘If you could read only one book to comprehend America’s foreign policy and its quixotic forays into quicksands over the past 50 years, this would be it.’ And what about the caliber of the storytelling? ‘The result is so bracing that Our Man not only revitalizes but in some ways reinvents the art of journalistic biography.’ And is there a Shakespeare-worthy leading character? Holbrooke is, writes Isaacson, ‘the last great freewheeling diplomat of the American Century. I doubt that any novel, not even one co-written by Graham Greene and F. Scott Fitzgerald, could have captured Holbrooke fully, and I certainly thought that no biography ever would. But now one has.’ I revisited Isaacson’s review after savoring George Packer’s tale through its final page. And thought if you ever find yourself teaching a class in book review writing, simply hand out this exemplar to those so interested and say no more. Be sure to enjoy this fully rounded review for its craft as well as its insights into this amazing work. Would you like a second professional opinion? Turn to the New York Review of Books feature article by Thomas Powers of last June 6th. As a long-time subscriber, I can’t remember another matching this unbridled endorsement. ‘No book could achieve the intensity, completeness, and narrative depth of Our Man without the author’s belief he had been put on this earth to do it. The strength of the book is its focus on Holbrooke’s character, which Packer pursues much as James Boswell pursued the human truth of Samuel Johnson.’ And what about the richness of its sub-stories? ‘Packer’s hundred pages on the American failure in Vietnam tell the story as forcefully as any hundred pages ever written about the war.’ Third, here’s a frugal tasting-offer to tempt your palate. Just read Packer’s preface. Seven pages and you will have dived into a clear, cool pool on a hot summer day. You will immediately sense the writing, its intimacy, the characters, the story, its bewilderment, the sense of many wrenching plots about to unfold. In this short a space your own sensors for full engagement are likely to arouse and be ready to go. If so, best regards from Isaacson, Powers and Moloney for encouraging you into George Packer’s masterpiece; which in a fair world should win recognition in every eligible category. Most important, the category of your own enjoyment and fulfillment in living through these formidable times. Thomas W. Moloney

• An outstanding biography - of US Foreign Policy making as well as of Holbrooke, a fascinating and important figure, by an excellent writer. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Must Read.

• A fine book about a remarkable man. It covers an interesting period also. Nice to read and to understand. Another book?

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