Kim Darroch was the UK ambassador to Washington for the tail end of the Obama administration and into Trumps time in the Whitehouse. He was forced to resign after somebody in the UK government leaked his diplomatic reports that were scathing of Trump, calling him “inept”. He’s obviously very bitter about the affair, but tries to be philosophical. The book is a great read. It features a short biography of his education and career in the foreign office, with stints in Tokyo, but mostly as a chief UK diplomat at the EU. He thinks Brexit was a profound mistake and has some excellent descriptions of the dismay in Washington at the decision. One of the challenges of being a diplomat is that you are required to represent your government whether you agree with their decisions or not, and you feel his pain about having had to wave the flag for Brexit while thinking it was an awful idea. On a lighter note, I really enjoyed the descriptions of ambassadorial life; the endless events and parties, the constant hobnobbing with various famous names and the summit of the US political scene. Funny how many people with a very poor public images are described so generously as brilliant, funny, or good value. Even Trump is shown to be able to pull out the charm in spades when it suits him. The book ends mid 2020 in full lockdown with Darroch back at his house in London speculating about the long term impact of the pandemic. Funny to read now four years later when we seem to have mostly forgotten about it.