Brink - by Brett McGurk (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The first major insider account of the high-stakes negotiations to free the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7--written in gripping detail by the American mediator who was in the room through it all

Having served four American presidents on matters of war and peace, Brett McGurk was no stranger to high-stakes diplomacy, but this was different. With American citizens missing, the hostages' release critical to ending the war in Gaza, and the desperate situation for civilians, McGurk and his team faced impossible tradeoffs at every turn. Caught between Hamas's maximalist demands and Israel's determination that Hamas could not maintain power in Gaza, McGurk and his colleagues worked relentlessly over fifteen months to get a deal that most increasingly thought impossible.

Taking readers inside McGurk's discussions and negotiations with President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, and presidents, generals, spies, and diplomats in Qatar, Egypt, Oman, and more, Brink paints a portrait of a region one wrong choice away from tipping into total war, as Iran and its proxy militias seized upon the chaos to open fire on Israeli and American targets. With the 2024 election reshaping the political landscape and time running out on the hostages, McGurk found himself working hand in hand with an unlikely partner--Trump's emissary from the New York real estate world, Steve Witkoff. They forged a bipartisan front when it mattered most--to secure a ceasefire and save lives.

A gripping account of diplomacy under fire, Brink takes readers from the Oval Office to the seats of power in the Middle East and offers a remarkable look inside a crisis that reshaped the world, the consequences of which are still unfolding today.

Review Quotes

"Readers don't expect an edge-of-your-seat thriller from a diplomat. But Brett McGurk delivers one with Brink. It is the brutal story of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that left over a thousand Israelis slaughtered and 250 taken into Gaza as hostages. What follows is an account of McGurk's unrelenting effort to rescue as many of those hostages as possible. What makes the book a nail-biter is the race between McGurk's negotiations with multiple intransigent players and the growing number of hostage deaths and the rising risk to those still alive. It is a tale of promise and frustration, of hope and despair, of sadness and pain and, ultimately, of the persistence and resolve of an extraordinary diplomat."--Robert M. Gates, U.S. Secretary of Defense 2006-2011

"The massacre in Israel by Hamas gunmen in the fall of 2023 kicked off the most tumultuous and far-reaching changes in the region's history. Brett McGurk takes us inside the White House to give us a dramatic and intimate account of those epochal days, from the moment Israel's fences were breached to his agonizing final efforts to free Hamas' hostages. Brink is as riveting as a suspense novel--except it's true."--Dexter Filkins, Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent and author of The Forever War

"I have known Brett McGurk through years when the United States faced some of its hardest tests in modern foreign policy. Across administrations of both parties, he earned the confidence of presidents, diplomats, military commanders, and allies through his strategic discipline, mastery of detail, and steady judgment under pressure. In Brink, McGurk brings readers inside the difficult reality of modern statecraft, where diplomacy unfolds in the shadow of war and every decision carries consequence. A serious book about a serious time."--General Jim Mattis, USMC (Retired), U.S. Secretary of Defense 2017-2018

"A real life thriller, brilliantly written. McGurk takes you into the rooms where it happened, from the Oval Office to a tent in the Saudi desert, with the presidents, prime ministers and royalty who made it happen. Brink is the latest chapter in McGurk's extraordinary career, spanning four presidencies and covering the war in Iraq, the rise and fall of ISIS and the elusive quest for Middle East peace. I look forward to the prequels."--Ambassador Ryan Crocker, six-time U.S. ambassador, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

About the Author

Brett McGurk served at the highest levels of American national security across four presidential administrations, most recently as Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs to President Biden, where he coordinated policy for the Middle East and North Africa. He earlier served as Special Presidential Envoy to Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, where he led the global coalition against ISIS. Under President Obama, he also led secret talks with Iran to free several American hostages held in Iran's notorious Evin Prison, later receiving the James Foley Freedom Award for hostage diplomacy. He is currently a Global Affairs Analyst for CNN and a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center and the Atlantic Council. He earned a bachelor's degree with honors from the University of Connecticut, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, after which he clerked for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.