“The Secretary is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how Hillary Clinton became one of the hardest working and most active secretaries of state in modern American history. Ghattas movingly interweaves Clinton's story with her own as a Lebanese woman. It's hard to read this vivid account and not wonder how Hillary would perform in the Oval Office.” —David Ignatius, columnist for The Washington Post and author of Bloodmoney
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The first inside account published about Hillary Clinton’s time as secretary of state, anchored by Kim Ghattas's own perspective and her quest to understand America’s place in the world
A New York Times best seller. A USA Today favourite. Featured in O, The Oprah Magazine; Elle and Cosmopolitan. The Secretary is a unique book.
Ghattas uses her storytelling skills to blend her account of Hillary Clinton’s time as secretary of state, with her exploration of American power and her own tale as a war child into an accessible read for a wide audience.
The Secretary will appeal equally to avid readers of world news, international affairs students, foreign policy experts and of course, anyone who wants to know more about Hillary Clinton.
The Secretary draws on interviews with Clinton, her staff, and major figures in the U.S. and around the world and presents a close-up look at Clinton's style of diplomacy while she handled the relationship with Asia, the Arab uprisings or the crisis spurred by the diplomatic cables revealed by WikiLeaks. Ghattas also offers a glimpse of the personal side of Clinton, cajoling and charming but remaining firm on U.S. positions while working to redefine the exercise of American power and cheerfully boarding a plane at 3 a.m.
Ghattas also presents a rich portrait of the different perspectives on U.S. power and influence around the world as well as her own personal experiences and misgivings about America while seeking to answer pivotal questions about the United States. Is America still the global superpower? If not, who or what will replace it, and what will it mean for America and the world?
The paperback edition comes with a new afterword that discusses the killing in Benghazi of the American ambassador Chris Stevens; the impact of the Arab uprisings on Clinton’s legacy and ends with a hint about what a Clinton campaign might look like. The Secretary was translated into Dutch, Korean and Chinese.
PRAISE FOR THE SECRETARY
“In The Secretary, Kim Ghattas does a tremendous job of blending the human and the historic, granting readers an insider’s perspective on how Hillary Clinton has worked through pressing international challenges—and the press corps itself.” —Ian Bremmer, author of Every Nation for Itself and president of the Eurasia Group
“[An] engaging look at U.S. diplomacy under Hillary Clinton ... Ghattas presents a close-up look at the touchiest of diplomatic issues in the first Obama administration, from the Arab Spring uprisings to WikiLeaks ...” —Vanessa Bush, Booklist
“The Secretary is an honest and forthright look at Clinton’s term—critical, though presented with a passing admiration of someone who started with so many unfavorable odds.” —The Daily Beast
“The book is rich in the details that create a sense of place and people. ... Overall she brings a refreshing slant and a clarity to a foreign policy that is all written in shades of gray.” —Daily Kos
“Both a splendid bird’s eye view of Hillary Clinton’s life and times, her education and evolution as America’s top diplomat, and an outsider’s candid impression of American power, with all its flaws and its perils but also its potential for good.” —Robert Kagan, Brookings Institution senior fellow and author of The World America Made
“Kim Ghattas has written a terrific book—not just our first intimate portrait of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, but also a riveting personal story about what it’s like to be a journalist, and a Lebanese woman at that, living in the Clinton bubble.” —Joe Klein, Time columnist
“Ghattas shares a personal and unvarnished acount of Clinton as secretary of state.” —Ms. Magazine
“Poignant and gripping ... The story of two women from different generations and cultures, yet bound by a common passion, one that transcends geographical and political boundaries, reminding us not just of our differences but of our shared humanity....a powerful journey of discovery and self-discovery.” —Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran
“[a] balanced and informed perspective on Clinton as secretary of state and what it was like to travel with ... an engaging read. It’s both personal and political, but Ghattas is far more interested in foreign policy than in gossip.” —O, The Oprah Magazine
“Secretary of State Hillary Clinton becomes the face of a superpower in this captivating profile...” —Publishers Weekly
“Skillfully written and scrupulously researched, Black Wave is an essential book in understanding the origins of the modern conflicts in the Middle East.” —Anne-Marie Slaughter, president and CEO of theNew America Foundation and former Director of Policy Planning at the Department of State
“[a] balanced and informed perspective on Clinton as secretary of State and what it was like to travel with ... an engaging read. It’s both personal and political, but Ghattas is far more interested in foreign policy than in gossip. ” —USA Today