Window Seat on the World

by Glen Johnson

Unless they've lost a passport abroad, most Americans have little appreciation for the reach and scope of the US Department of State or the perils faced by its employees. Reporter Glen Johnson had been covering politics for the Boston Globe when he received a job offer that would embed him in this world of protocols, planes, and global peacekeeping. His new boss would be Secretary of State John Kerry, set to become the most prominent diplomat on the world stage. Johnson sensed it was a meeting of man and moment. For four years, he accompanied Kerry as he became the most-traveled Secretary of State in history. The former journalist kept notes while Kerry worked out a power-sharing agreement in Afghanistan, negotiated with the Israelis, convinced Iran to get rid of its nuclear weapons program, developed a counter-ISIS coalition, and brokered climate change agreements, including the 2015 Paris Agreement. Kerry also confronted two lingering challenges: how to cooperate with an assertive China and a Russia that sidestepped its own wrongdoing but felt aggrieved and justified to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. In his goal to create the best and most complete photo archive of any Secretary of State, Johnson lobbied the State Department for a decent camera and shot more than 100,000 photographs everywhere Kerry went—from the office of Pope Francis to center ice for a puck drop at Madison Square Garden, from the Kremlin and No. 10 Downing Street to a helicopter flying over Antarctica. Window Seat on the World is an all-access look at life inside the nation's first cabinet agency: the complexity of State Department protocols, the grueling schedules, the delicacy of engagement with world leaders and foreign cultures, and the dedication of a longtime public servant and his team to the practice of diplomacy.

Genres: Nonfiction

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 9, 2019

Reviews

[Davis Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The length of time I spent reading this book does not reflect the quality of the story told. It is truly a great insight into some of the ins and outs of the State Department during John Kerry’s tenure. For anyone even remotely interested in politics, government, or international relations this has to be a must read.

[Will G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book as a gift and finally gave it a try. Much better than I was expecting, a solid description as to what it's like in the Federal State Department. Progressively tilted but still an interesting read to see how our country operates and interfaces with the rest of the world.

[Paul Gater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and meticulously detailed account of Glen’s life on Kerry’s staff for 4 years while he was Secretary of State. Lots of insight into the careful planning and diplomacy needed to make progress on major issues facing the world at the time and now. The passion shown by both the Secretary and author about climate change is particularly striking given that Kerry is now ‘climate czar’ in the Biden administration. The lack of interest by Kerry’s successor in transition is quite shocking. A good read if you want to know more about how stuff gets done at the highest level of government.