How I Got Here: Lives in Public Service

Book
Foreign policy analyses written by CFR fellows and published by the trade presses, academic presses, or the Council on Foreign Relations Press.

“Dark times,” Hannah Arendt once noted, “are not only not new, they are no rarity in history.” She maintained her conviction, however, “that even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect some illumination, and that such illumination may well come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering, and often weak light that some men and women, in their lives and their works, will kindle.” It is in that spirit the present volume is offered.

All of the subjects interviewed here have led outstanding lives of public service, in fields ranging from diplomacy and national security, to law and aid, to journalism and the academy. They have excelled as professionals and people and speak frankly of how their lives and careers unfolded, what they got right and wrong, and what advice they have for those coming after. Glittering with priceless historical nuggets, studded with hard-earned wisdom, the stories are fascinating alone and panoramic in conjunction.

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Gideon Rose, Editor

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United States

Top Stories on CFR

China

Ian Johnson, the Stephen A. Schwarzman senior fellow for China studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how Chinese filmmakers, journalists, and artists are challenging the Chinese Communist Party’s version of history. 

Climate Change

For decades, U.S. homeowners have counted on property insurance to protect them from catastrophic loss if their homes are destroyed—and the U.S. economy has rested on the functionality of that model. But as this summer’s extreme weather broke records, private companies reduced their coverage. As climate disasters become more frequent, can home insurance hold up?

Ukraine

If Western allies fail to send Ukraine the weapons it needs, the odds increase of the war dragging on indefinitely, at a terrible cost to both Ukraine and Russia and a growing risk to the wider world.