DECEMBER 2018 - AudioFile
LJ Ganser delivers an easygoing conversational style in narrating these memoirs of the former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. McFaul recounts his journey from his high school days through his undergraduate and graduate studies and NGO work in Russia and, finally, his tenure as United States Ambassador to Russia. Deeply involved in politics, McFaul was both an observer and a participant in a number of major events in the decline and fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of post-Soviet Russia. Ganser’s pacing, enunciation, and inflection match the text well and make this an enjoyable experience for those interested in one person’s experience of contemporary Russia. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
The New York Times Book Review - Daniel Beer
This memoir tells a political story that is also personal: the story of a man who watches as his own lifelong efforts to promote cooperation and integration between America and Russia are undone by Putin himself…McFaul combines both analytical and personal perspectives to offer a fascinating and timely account of the current crisis in the relationship between Russia and the United States.
Publishers Weekly
03/05/2018
Stanford political science professor McFaul, who was posted to Moscow as U.S. ambassador from 2012 to 2014, provides useful insights into the changing relationship between America and Russia in this smart, personable mix of memoir and political analysis. McFaul first traveled to the then Soviet Union in 1983 as an undergraduate, and his resulting longtime interest in Russia turned to active engagement in 2007, when he was asked to advise the Obama campaign, a role that morphed into a position as special assistant to the president and senior director for Russian affairs. His tenure in the White House and then in Moscow coincided with increased tensions with the Putin regime, which ultimately accused the U.S. of interference in its elections and declared McFaul persona non grata, despite his energetic outreach to the Russian people, which included unprecedented interactions for an American on social media. McFaul does not believe Putinism as it exists today was inevitable, pointing to George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq as a “devastating blow to bilateral relations” that might otherwise have continued their post-9/11 progress. The author’s privileged perspective as both an academic and policy maker makes this an essential volume for those trying to understand one of the U.S.’s most significant current rivals. Agent: Tina Bennett, WME. (May)
From the Publisher
A fascinating and timely account of the current crisis in the relationship between Russia and the United States.” —New York Times Book Review "McFaul succeeds, shedding needed light on the most geopolitically competitive relationship of the last 75 years and attempting to explain the 'why and what' of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election." —The Guardian "Careful about providing evidence for his hard-earned opinions, [McFaul] is always clear and successfully assesses the level of complexity we lay-readers need to understand academic theories about revolutions and economics." —Christian Science Monitor "An invaluable memoir." —David Remnick "Vigorously argued." —Washington Post "An expert political chronicle that often reads like a fast-paced thriller." —Booklist, starred review "Mike McFaul has lived history. In this terrific book, he recounts a pivotal time in U.S.-Russian relations, bringing the perspective of a central participant and one of America's finest scholars of Russian politics. This book will be valued by students, experts, historians and diplomats for years to come. It is a good read and an invaluable contribution at a crucial time." —Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State under George W. Bush (2005-2009) “As both a first-hand observer and a key participant in many of the recent events that have shaped US-Russia relations, Ambassador McFaul has an important story to tell. From Cold War to Hot Peace is a gripping and intensely personal account of one of the most complex and consequential geopolitical developments of our time.” —Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State under Bill Clinton (1997-2001) “This is an indispensable book for understanding the threat our country faces from Vladimir Putin’s Russia. McFaul is a candid and insightful guide to the history, personalities, and politics that continue to shape one of America’s most consequential relationships.” —Hillary Rodham Clinton, former Secretary of State under Barack Obama (2009-2013) “Mike McFaul gives us a broad, thoughtful analysis of a critical shift in world affairs. Read From Cold War to Hot Peace for timely, informative, and intriguing insights on changing US-Russia relations.” —George P. Shultz, former Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan (1982-1989) "[McFaul] provides useful insights into the changing relationship between America and Russia in this smart, personable mix of memoir and political analysis... an essential volume for those trying to understand one of the U.S.’s most significant current rivals." —Publishers Weekly "Of interest to observers of the unfolding constitutional crisis as well as of Russia's place in the international order." —Kirkus Reviews
DECEMBER 2018 - AudioFile
LJ Ganser delivers an easygoing conversational style in narrating these memoirs of the former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. McFaul recounts his journey from his high school days through his undergraduate and graduate studies and NGO work in Russia and, finally, his tenure as United States Ambassador to Russia. Deeply involved in politics, McFaul was both an observer and a participant in a number of major events in the decline and fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of post-Soviet Russia. Ganser’s pacing, enunciation, and inflection match the text well and make this an enjoyable experience for those interested in one person’s experience of contemporary Russia. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2018-03-03
A former U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation offers a gimlet-eyed view of the new Cold War.In 2014, when he announced that he was leaving his post as the Obama administration's ambassador, McFaul (Political Science/Stanford Univ.; Advancing Democracy Abroad, 2009, etc.) writes that "a prominent pro-Kremlin nationalist told me he was glad to see me go." The reason: McFaul, unlike many politically appointed diplomats, actually knew something about the country, so much so, as a Stanford Kremlinologist, that Putin was said to have feared him. The author returns the favor. As he makes clear, Putin is no friend of the U.S., and in the most recent iterations of the Cold War, especially the proxy struggle to support or undermine, respectively, an independent Ukraine, he has become ever more anti-American while at the same time progressively "weakening checks on his power." In some sense, it did not help that Obama backed off from the old U.S. mission, nominal or not, of spreading democracy. Putin certainly had no problem with spreading autocracy, even as Obama "did not support the use of coercive power to pressure dictatorships into democratizing." But McFaul's post-mortem on the Obama-Putin relationship is of less immediate interest than his view of the current morass. As he notes, Donald Trump enjoys far greater popularity in polls in Russia than at home, and although Putin may not have directly made Trump president—"American voters did that"—Trump has proven to be a highly useful tool for the Russian autocrat's ends. He has validated Putin's claim that the Western media are slanted and untrustworthy, refused to impose congressionally mandated sanctions, and, in his obsession with the "deep state," has played straight into Putin's conspiracy theories. Even if, as McFaul writes, "the American backlash against Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election has begun," it may come too little and too late.Of interest to observers of the unfolding constitutional crisis as well as of Russia's place in the international order.
