Fresh out of college, and frustrated with own generation’s political apathy, Brian Till set out to interview the former world leaders he most admired. To his surprise, they were eager to talk, and he soon found himself discussing everything from energy to terrorism to nuclear disarmament with the greatest leaders of the last twenty-five years. Here, he distills what they learned in office, their predictions for the future, and their advice for the leaders of tomorrow. Including interviews with:
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"This is a collection full of voices that have not been heard enough in America, and the world. Brian Till has spent quality time with some of the most innovative and significant officials of the past few decades, and their experiences and insights are a delight to read, as well as provide an important series of history lessons."--Seymour M. Hersh
“Conversations with Power reflects one young man’s quest for knowledge and reassurance from a fascinating array of past leaders. The result is not only a revealing set of lessons about the possibilities and limitations of power; it is also a challenge to a new generation to take the future into its own hands.”--Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State
“This is a marvelous collection. Brian Till has journeyed around the world talking to leaders of all sorts of government about how they got to the top, what they did there, what worked, what did not. His book gives valuable insights into the secrets of power - and how the powerful see the world today.”—William Shawcross, author of Deliver Us From Evil
"An astonishing range of knowledge is on display here - both in world leaders giving context to their rule, and in the piercing, precise questions Till uses to gain access to the answers...as entertaining as any thriller you'll see this year."-- Stephen Gaghan, Academy Award-winning writer of Traffic and writer/director of Syriana.
About the Author
Brian Michael Till is a Research Fellow at the New America Foundation and a correspondent for TheAtlantic. His columns have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, The Las Vegas Sun, the Los Angeles Daily News, Newsday, The Oregonian, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the St. Petersburg Times. He has been a guest on NPR's Talk of the Nation and has worked with Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont and the Treatment Action Campaign in Cape Town, South Africa. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Brian Till grew up in a small Vermont town near Lake Champlain, where he played pond hockey, and, in the summers, worked at the Burlington Boathouse. He is a Research Fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C., and blogs for the Atlantic.He previously wrote a nationally syndicated column, and graduated from Haverford College in 2008, where he played lacrosse and won the Herman M. Somers Prize for best political science thesis.
His book, "Conversations with Power," will be published by Palgrave Macmillan this spring. For the project, he interviewed former leaders from around the world, including: Ehud Barak, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Vaclav Havel.
Brian Till's masterful interviews with former heads of state is a Wizard of Oz moment. He pulls the curtain back and readers are afforded a rare glimpse into the complexity of leadership. Who can leaders trust for advice? Why are they forced to end lifelong friendships? Are they always comfortable with the decisions they make? How do they seek solace from the madness of their jobs? This book should be required reading for every political science, international affairs and journalism student in the world. It is an exceptional masterpiece in figuring out what makes world leads cope with their day job.
Just finished and particularly enjoyed the conversations with John Keating, Gro, and De Klerk. Also very interesting that Musharraf told you when speaking about outside protection for Bhutto and how it would be an insult to Pakistan. "this is Pakistan, which is 170 million people. It has got 600,000 military. It has second line forces, the rangers. There is no question, why should anyone from outside come in?" Very interesting in light of Bin Laden's capture, etc.
Also contains great insight into why Australia is weathering thefinancial crisis so well.
This book could have been titled "My Thoughts About Climate Change." Till centers many of his interview questions around global warming and a handful of other pet issues. He makes no effort to hide his political views and tries to get the interviewees, often not subtly, to agree with his positions. I consider myself a moderate/independent and don't fundamentally disagree with Till on at least some of his favorite topics. I thought, however, that I was going to read a series of unbiased journalistic interviews. Instead, I'm left with a strong impression of Till's political agenda and considerably vaguer impressions of the interviewees. Given the lineup, I was excited before starting the book - someone like Jim Lehrer would have done a great job with this.
