Chances of a Lifetime

An engaging insider's account of some of the most fascinating domestic and international episodes in contemporary American history, from the highly respected former secretary of state who remains a Democratic elder statesman.

Warren Christopher is that rarest of Washington personalities: a wise and witty public servant once described by the "Washington Post" as "the antithesis of the glitz-hungry, self-aggrandizing, corner-cutting political figures who dominate Washington today." In this memoir, the man whose sage counsel and sometimes parodied discretion brought him to the right hand of mayors, governors, and presidents, shares his personal recollections and impressions of leaders and events that shaped the second half of the twentieth century.

Writing in tightly crafted, often self-effacing prose, Christopher chronicles how he left the privacy of life at a premier law firm to heed calls to public service from Supreme Court justice William O. Douglas, Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley, and California governor Edmund "Pat" Brown -- as well as presidents Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. Throughout his career, Christopher faced diverse challenges: he advised a president on whether to dispatch federal troops to quell civil disturbances; led negotiations to free American hostages in Iran; investigated a major city's police force gone awry; and helped cope with Yitzhak Rabin's assassination.

From "Starting from Scranton" and "The Johnson Treatment" to "Middle East: Antipodes" and "Yesterday a War, Today a Country," each chapter is a compelling story on its own. Together, they offer the first clear picture of the impact of this quiet North Dakotan on modernAmerican history.