Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations Book

John Bolton is notoriously feisty, and his time at the UN was notoriously feisty as well. As a journalist who covered his entire time here, I found it fascinating to read this account of what was actually going on in the meetings I spent many hours waiting outside of. The strengths and weaknesses of Bolton's tenure are all on display in his writing here. On the one hand, he has a commanding mastery of the issues, an unflinching willingness to call it as he sees it, and an ability to press ahead and get things done on the Security Council. On the other hand, he has a complete disdain of the virtues of diplomatic niceties. Few memoirs of any kind, let alone those of an Ambassador, carry as many incredulous exclamation points (!) as this one does. Although Bolton had noteworthy successes on an often divided and divisive Security Council, the willful disdain and insults heaped upon political opponents and institutions he did not respect or care for -- all repeatedly and unapologetically on display here -- did not help him advance his case in Turtle Bay with the broader membership. The fact that so many desperately needed structural and management reforms here became reviled by the developing nations and died quietly in the General Assembly cannot be blamed on Bolton, but his style probably didn't help.