The Powerful and the Damned: Private Diaries in Turbulent Times (edition 2020)

This is an excellent book: well written, mostly fair, insightful and entertaining. Even if you don't agree with Barber's point of view, you will find his survey of the past fifteen years to be illuminating and engaging. Potential readers should note, however, that this is a memoir, not a collection of contemporaneous diaries. Although the 'diary' format provides immediacy, it also imbues the book with a tone of twenty-twenty hindsight that does a disservice to its author. Despite this small caveat: highly recommended. ( )