As George H.W. Walker’s Secretary of State, James Baker witnessed
firsthand some of the most important events of the 20th century. As he
himself notes, while he was in office, the world as he’d known it, had
changed completely. He was referring, of course, to such events as the
end of the Soviet Union, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and the
reunification of Germany, and the end of apartheid in South Africa.In
this book, he gives readers his personal assessment of all the many
changes taking place around the world. As Secretary of State, he was
directly involved in formulating U.S. foreign policy responses to them.
Consider, for example, the events in China when the government used
tanks against student protestors in Tiananmen Square. Or the need to
build an international coalition to chase Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait.Baker
found himself often traveling to foreign capitals around the world, in
order to implement U.S. policies aimed at keeping the international
system as stable as possible.During the course of his
activities as Secretary of State, he met many leaders and governmental
officials of other countries, as well as leaders of international
organizations. He offers his characterizations as individuals of some
of the most famous leaders he encountered. They range from Francois
Mitterand to Helmut Kohl, and from Boris Yeltsin to King Hussein.In writing this memoir, Baker follows in the footsteps of some of his most noteworthy predecessors as Secretary of State.