Outpost Audiobook By Christopher R. Hill cover art

Outpost

Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy: A Memoir

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Outpost

By: Christopher R. Hill
Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.95

Buy for $24.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

An "inside the room" memoir from one of our most distinguished ambassadors who - in a career of service to the country - was sent to some of the most dangerous outposts of American diplomacy. From the wars in the Balkans to the brutality of North Korea to the endless war in Iraq, this is the real life of an American diplomat. Hill was on the front lines in the Balkans at the breakup of Yugoslavia. He takes us from one-on-one meetings with the dictator Milosevic, to Bosnia and Kosovo, to the Dayton conference, where a truce was brokered. Hill draws upon lessons learned as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon early on in his career and details his prodigious experience as a US ambassador. He was the first American Ambassador to Macedonia; Ambassador to Poland, where he also served in the depth of the cold war; Ambassador to South Korea and chief disarmament negotiator in North Korea; and Hillary Clinton's hand-picked Ambassador to Iraq. Hill's account is an adventure story of danger, loss of comrades, high stakes negotiations, and imperfect options. There are fascinating portraits of war criminals (Mladic, Karadzic), of presidents and vice presidents (Clinton, Bush and Cheney, and Obama), of Secretaries of State (Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton), of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and of Ambassadors Richard Holbrooke and Lawrence Eagleburger. Hill writes bluntly about the bureaucratic warfare in DC and expresses strong criticism of America's aggressive interventions and wars of choice.

©2014 Christopher Hill (P)2014 Audible Inc.
Diplomacy Politicians War Career
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Outpost

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    66
  • 4 Stars
    35
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    57
  • 4 Stars
    28
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    61
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great book to learn about the Foreign Service

Any additional comments?

I am a foreign service officer so I read Hill's book with interest. I recommend it for people who want to learn a bit more about the career, and hear along the way about some pivotal episodes in American diplomacy such as the bombing of Serbia in 1999 and what happened in Macedonia afterwards.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Fascinating Life Experience

Any additional comments?

I love memoirs written by those on the front lines of history, such is this book. The American diplomatic corp is interesting, colorful, and professional. And the performance was very good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating

The more I read (or Listen) the more I realize how little most of us in America really know about the world outside our borders.

This book is great trip through most of the major international political events of the last three decades from someone who was on the ground talking to the people involved. The book will put you into the rook with Milsovich. It will take you from to the nuclear reactors of North Korea to the roadside bombs in Iraq.

Mostly it provides much needed insight into the nuances of foreign policy and diplomacy never covered in presidential campaigns or debates on the Senate floor.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

informative

Lots of history, very interesting perspective. this book makes me proud to be American. something else we can besides going into war. Thank you Christopher Hill for your memoir.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An I was there view

If your interest is a clear I was there view of tough spots in the world of diplomacy, this is your book. Hill looks back on a singularly difficult series of postings with a clear evaded understanding of what our dominant country can do, should do and in fact does. We aren't Solomon are we?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Diplomatic Mentor

This is a great book for any reader who would like to have an inside perspective of US diplomatic service, and its unique connection to changing administration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Listen

This was my second time with the material. I had already read the hard copy a few years ago. The audiobook is just as engaging and the material just as interesting a second time. In the intervening time between reads, I also listened to William Burns’ memoir so it was interesting listening to Outpost with the additional context of another diplomat’s memoir in mind.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

what a boring book

I am not sure who allowed this to be published, but this is one of the most boring books I've ever endured. Hill thinks that him walking up a couple of stairs to reach a meeting with North Korean diplomats is interesting enough to be in the book, which tells you how boring the rest of the book is. Avoid at all costs

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!