Additional information
by William J. Burns (Author)
"A masterful diplomatic memoir" (The Washington Post) from CIA director and career ambassador William J. Burns, from his service under five presidents to his personal encounters with Vladimir Putin and other world leaders--an impassioned argument for the enduring value of diplomacy in an increasingly volatile world.
Over the course of more than three decades as an American diplomat, William J. Burns played a central role in the most consequential diplomatic episodes of his time--from the bloodless end of the Cold War to the collapse of post-Cold War relations with Putin's Russia, from post-9/11 tumult in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East to the secret nuclear talks with Iran.
Author Biography
William J. Burns is currently the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in 2014 after a thirty-three-year diplomatic career, and went on to become president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He holds the highest rank in the Foreign Service, career ambassador, and is only the second serving career diplomat in history to become deputy secretary of state. Prior to his tenure as deputy secretary, Ambassador Burns served from 2008 to 2011 as undersecretary for political affairs. He was ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008, assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs from 2001 to 2005, and ambassador to Jordan from 1998 to 2001. Ambassador Burns earned a bachelor's degree in history from La Salle University and master's and doctoral degrees in international relations from Oxford University, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar. He and his wife, Lisa, have two daughters.
