Richard Gardner's book about his time as ambassador to Italy during my administration is a dramatic, accurate account of one of the most difficult and successful diplomatic missions in the history of the Cold War.
former president Jimmy Carter An exemplary and fascinating story not only of an American intellectual and scholar in Italy, but also of one of ... Read morethe most complex periods in the political life of our country and of Europe.
Francesco Cossiga, former Italian president and prime minister Richard Gardner's account of those years, nourished by his personal records and by previously unpublished documents, helps us to better understand the greatness and smallness of Italian leaders of those times and the role played by the United States on the delicate boundary between an unavoidable active interest and an interference it wished to avoid. Portraits and analyses are presented with great effectiveness.
Giuliano Amato, former Italian prime minister Richard Gardner's memoir of a crucial time in U.S. relations with Italy is both an enthralling story and a significant contribution to the history of the Cold War.
Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Pulitzer-prize winning historian I feel I have traveled at Gardner's side through a stirring period of history. That he is able to assemble such detailed recollections has my special admiration and, take my word for it, there is no account of American diplomacy like his.
Henry Graff, professor emeritus of history, Columbia University This is an engaging and highly readable book which throws light upon U.S. foreign policy during the Carter administration.
Political Studies Review
This is a fascinating book that says a lot about American diplomacy and attitudes towards Italian politics.
Journal of Contemporary European Studies
Mission Italy is a scrupulously honest and thoroughly documented narrative of a critical episode in the history of the Cold War. Rich in anecdotes and revealing details, it can serve as a guidebook for students of diplomacy and aspiring diplomats.
Zbigniew Brzezinski, "Compelling, readable, and very moving!" A much-needed addition to the catalogue of scholarly work on the foreign policy of president Jimmy Carter.
Douglas Brinkley, president of the Theodore Roosevelt Center, Tulane University. To understand Italian politics fully in that crucial period of Italian history it is indispensable to read . . . Ambassador Gardner’s critically important memoir.
Irwin Wall
Relations Internationales
Gardner had the true diplomatic ability to say even unpalatable things in a polite fashion. If he disappointed many hopes, he left Italian-American relations in a much healthier state than he found them, and that is no small praise for an ambassador.
Adrian Lyttleton
The New York Review Of Books
[Gardner's] latest book proves him an able historian as well as an accomplished diplomat. . . . [I feel] gratitude that so important an epoch in American and European history has been recorded so authoritatively and so interestingly. . . . A book worth reading and worth remembering.
New York Law Journal
An excellent guide for teaching the practice of diplomacy and a most valuable source book on international relations during the Cold War. Rare is the book that combines instruction with real experience and presents both in such a readable format.
Ralph Buultjens, New York University Show Less