Robert Hutchings is Dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. Before joining the School in 2010, he was Diplomat in Residence at Princeton University, where he also served as Assistant Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. His combined academic and diplomatic career included service as Director for European Affairs with the National Security Council, Special Adviser to the Secretary of State with the rank of ambassador, and Chairman of the U.S. National Intelligence Council.

Jeremi Suri is the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is also a professor in the Department of History and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Professor Suri is a leading scholar of international diplomacy, strategy, and policy-making. He is the author of five previous books, including Power and Protest, Henry Kissinger and the American Century and Liberty's Surest Guardian: American Nation-Building from the Founders to Obama. Professor Suri writes for newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle, and Wired Magazine. He was named by Smithsonian Magazine as one of "America's top young innovators."

"...well worth a read for budding diplomats on lessons that can be applied to future world crises. Overall a very valuable book, and a welcome addition to the diplomatic literature." --Sun News Miami

"The result is a very rich case-oriented study of diplomacy that provides an excellent model for how multi-author edited volumes can be structured to facilitate cross-chapter dialogue." --H-Net Reviews