Global go-betweens

The Ambassadors: Thinking About Diplomacy from Machiavelli to Modern Times by Robert Cooper Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 576 pages, £25

This book is not primarily about ambassadors; its subtitle is a much better guide to the contents. Cooper’s main interest lies at a higher level: in foreign ministers and their senior officials, and in how they think. He begins during the Italian Renaissance with a chapter on Machiavelli, then jumps forward to the French court and its ministers Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin. The bulk of his case studies, however, are taken from the 20th century, as the great statesmen of the west steer their way through wars both hot and cold. For readers who want to get inside the minds of the policymakers at