Despite these criticisms, the book can be a useful read. For those who agree that Obama should have done more to extend a hand of friendship to Tehran, it will be a satisfying exercise in self-affirmation.

The relationship between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China is multifaceted and goes well beyond economic relations, but questions of macroeconomic imbalances have remained at the heart of bilateral discussions between the two.

Diplomacy can never supplant the importance of military victory. Obama may want to bring the troops home, but the diplomacy-first strategy hampers peace. As the history of drinking tea with the Taliban shows, talk is not only cheap; it is deadly.

As the Obama administration speeds up the drawdown in troops and rushes for the exit from Afghanistan, the Taliban has begun to celebrate the American withdrawal as a victory, and it is preparing for a comeback after foreign troops leave the country.

Ample mutual misunderstanding exists between the United States and China in their economic arguments. There is likely to be an important race between economic and demographic forces that will naturally redress the imbalances and the political imperatives for each country to stand tough and fight.

That Bin Laden survived almost 10 years after his attacks on New York and Washington should be an indictment of both parties and, more broadly, the American way of diplomacy.

The return of cricket diplomacy raises an intriguing question: How can India use its considerable soft power--its dominance of South Asian sport, movies, music, television and publishing--to address the rise of fundamentalism in Pakistan?

Gradually lowering greenhouse gas emissions would be worthwhile were all states to join in the effort, but absent such strong, broad-based action, countries should explore other means of limiting harm from climate change.