NEW YORK — Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken has a book deal, billed by his publisher as a “rare glimpse” into the “challenging and often controversial” responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war in Gaza and other crises that broke out during his four years at the helm of the State Department under President Joe Biden.
Crown, an imprint of Penguin Random House, announced the book Tuesday. The title and release date are still to be determined.
“In this candid work, he will offer the first inside story from within the administration on what really transpired in the run up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the difficult choices that shaped American diplomatic and military support in the months that followed in a war that would bring the world as close to nuclear conflict as it had come in more than half a century,” Crown’s statement reads in part.
Crown promised Blinken’s book would “take readers into the Situation Room and the Oval Office to hear the discussion about how to keep tensions with China from spiraling to dangerous levels.”
The book will also cover the Israel-Hamas war, sharing “the reaction at the highest levels of American government” to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel, “unfolding the complicated calculus by which the administration dealt with Israel’s military response,” and the U.S. government’s role in ceasefire and hostage negotiations.
Blinken, 62, is a State Department and National Security Council veteran whose service dates back to the Clinton administration. He was a foreign policy adviser to Joe Biden during the 2020 election and was secretary of state through all four years of the Biden administration, a time of conflicts around the world.
Blinken and the Biden administration were often criticized for their handling of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and for their support for Israel in its war against Hamas. Critics and protesters contended they did not impose meaningful restrictions on weapons shipments to Israel or push its ally hard enough to ease a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Protesters interrupted his final State Department briefing and at other times gathered outside of his home.
In an Associated Press interview on his last workday, Blinken said that he hoped his legacy would include building “a new and stronger foundation for the United States in the world for the future.” He also acknowledged sharp differences with the incoming Trump administration over Biden’s support for Ukraine and the NATO alliance, among other issues.
“When we came in, we inherited partnerships and alliances that were seriously frayed,” he said. “So if past is prologue, yes, it would be a concern.”
Terms for Blinken’s deal were not disclosed. Negotiations were handled by Esther Newberg of the Creative Artists Agency, which also has worked with Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
