Christopher Meyer – författare

A highly informed insider''s account of some of the ''honest men'' as they sought, by fair means or foul, to get Britain its way in the world.GETTING OUR WAY recounts nine stories from Britain''s diplomatic annals over the last five hundred years, in which the diplomats themselves are at the centre of the narrative. It is an inside account of their extraordinary experiences, sometimes in the face of physical danger, often at history''s hinge. Be it Henry Killigrew''s mission to Edinburgh in 1572, Castlereagh at the Congress of Vienna, Our Man in Washington and the Nassau Deal, or the handover of Hong Kong to China, we can see how Britain has viewed its interests in the world and sought to advance them. Some of these dramatic episodes record triumph, some failure, but all of them illustrate how the three pillars of the national interest - security, prosperity and values - have been the foundation of British foreign policy for half a century. Each story is illuminated by colourful anecdotes and insights drawn from Christopher Meyer''s first-hand experience of international relations. Moreover, the book is a salutary reminder that foreign policy and diplomacy begin and end with the national interest. And far from being the preserve of aloof aristocrats, the pursuit of our national interest is replete with an extraordinary combination of high principle and low cunning, vice and virtue, all with the specific aim of ''getting our way''.

Riveting and candid memoir of life behind the scenes as US Ambassador and Prime Minister''s Press Secretary - a Sunday Times bestsellerChristopher Meyer was Ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2003, during which time he was an eyewitness to and participant in the events following 9/11 and the preparations for the Iraq war. Never before has there been such a riveting and candid memoir of life behind the diplomatic scenes. Meyer''s is an honest account of what he saw, what he heard and how he felt.The cast list of characters who feature here includes Margaret Thatcher, Bob Hope, the Clintons, Steven Spielberg, Condoleeza Rice, Alastair Campbell and Jack Straw. The book reveals close encounters with Tony Blair, Robin Cook and Peter Mandelson; KGB honey traps in Russia; a major row with Bill Clinton; inside stories on Number 10 and the Foreign Office; and of course life behind the scenes with Blair and George W. Bush. It was clear that the Prime Minister''s office and not the Foreign Office would control relations with Washington, and Meyer shows in close up how he helped facilitate the ''special relationship''.