From Cold War To Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin's Russia

From the diplomat Putin wants to interrogate—and has banned from Russia—comes a revelatory inside account of US-Russia relations across the three decades following the Cold War.In 2008, when Michael McFaul was asked to leave his perch at Stanford and join an unlikely presidential campaign, he had no idea that he would find himself at the beating heart of one of today’s most contentious and consequential international relationships.

As President Barack Obama’s adviser on Russian affairs, McFaul helped craft the United States’ policy known as “reset” that fostered new and unprecedented collaboration between the two countries.

And then, as US ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, he had a front-row seat when this fleeting, hopeful moment crumbled with Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency.