A review by davidfranklin88
Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century by George Packer
5.0
Five stars. I loved this book: the best biography I’ve read. George Packer takes us through his rapid ascent from a precocious 21-year-old in Vietnam, through to his apex in ending the Bosnian war, to his decline under Obama in which he seemed a product of a bygone age. The optimism, the achievement, the frustration: all mirroring the decline of American power in the same period. The writing is electric, and the asides in which Packer speaks straight at the reader and fires off a piece of razor-sharp insight are a treat.
Holbrooke was never Secretary of State because he upset too many people. But it was the truth that hurt them, not his arrogance. Tony Lake, whose volatile relationship with Holbrooke is charted brilliantly by Packer, had it right when he conceded that “what Holbrooke wants attention for is what he’s doing, not what he is”. Holbrooke’s energy was directed towards doing what was right, and he was right for most of his life. Packer is right to say there may never be another Holbrooke: a multipolar world will not have space for such a force of nature.
Holbrooke was never Secretary of State because he upset too many people. But it was the truth that hurt them, not his arrogance. Tony Lake, whose volatile relationship with Holbrooke is charted brilliantly by Packer, had it right when he conceded that “what Holbrooke wants attention for is what he’s doing, not what he is”. Holbrooke’s energy was directed towards doing what was right, and he was right for most of his life. Packer is right to say there may never be another Holbrooke: a multipolar world will not have space for such a force of nature.