Overview

Full Product Details

Author:   Peter Ricketts
Publisher:   Quarto Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Aurum
Dimensions:   Width: 15.30cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.660kg
ISBN:  

9781836009016

ISBN 10:   1836009011
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   07 May 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Chapters include: 1 Witness to disaster: the Paris Embassy and the fall of France  2 The price of peace for our time: the build-up to war 3 Adapting to survive: the war comes to Whitehall 4 Breaking down the barriers: women in the Foreign Office 5 Persuasion and propaganda: three women of the world 6 Being met together: the Atlantic Charter and the outlines of a new international order 7 Cheerful energy: eight months of lockdown in Tokyo  8 Keeping Spain neutral: diplomats and spies in wartime Madrid 9 Running risks in Rome: Francis d’Arcy Osborne’s four years in the Vatican 10 A walk in the Russian woods: Archibald Clark Kerr and the courting of Stalin 11 Shaping a better world: Gladwyn Jebb and the United Nations plan 12 Picking up the pieces: de Gaulle, Churchill and the making of an ally 13 Risking a false prospectus: Yalta and the limits of diplomacy 14 The last hard yards: from San Francisco to Potsdam 15 Winning the peace: the Foreign Office and the post-war world

Reviews

A fascinating and highly readable account of how the Foreign Office helped turned wartime victory into postwar peace, full of vivid quotes from the men and women - yes, lots of women - who served their country in little-known ways.  Prof. David Reynolds, Cambridge University This wonderfully written book by Peter Ricketts about the war service of so many dedicated men and women in the British Foreign Office places them at long last where they rightly belong - in the pantheon of British 2nd world war heroes Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell 

'Well-researched and enthralling, Peter Ricketts brings the wartime Foreign Office to life.  A fascinating account of Britain's too often neglected diplomats at war.'  Tim Bouverie 'A fascinating and highly readable account of how the Foreign Office helped turned wartime victory into postwar peace, full of vivid quotes from the men and women - yes, lots of women - who served their country in little-known ways.' Prof. David Reynolds, Cambridge University ‘Peace Makers is a brilliant inside job. Who better than a former Permanent Secretary to take us on a riveting tour of the Foreign Office at war? He blends policy, personalities, themes, episodes and vignettes with his insider's feel. His cast of smooth operators, brilliant eccentrics, pioneering women and brave staff at all levels is truly inspiring.' Prof. Peter Hennessy 'A fascinating account of the ingenuity and courage required of diplomats in wartime and a reminder that working an embassy can bring great dangers. Peter Ricketts has filled an important gap in our history and demonstrated that many of the men and women of the foreign office made outstanding contributions to their country’s survival in the Second World War.'  Lord Hague

Author Information

Peter Ricketts was a British diplomat for more than forty years and rose to be the Permanent Under Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service. He was also the UK's first National Security Advisor, and Ambassador to France. He is now a member of the House of Lords, the Chairman of the Franco-British Council and Vice Chairman of the Royal United Services Institute. He is much in demand as a commentator on foreign affairs, appearing regularly on the BBC, Sky News, Times Radio and LBC. He has written for the FT, the Times and the New Statesman. His first book, Hard Choices: the making and unmaking of global Britain, was published in 2021.

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