A highly informed insider"s account of some of the "honest men" of Britain, as they sought, by fair means or by foul, to help their country make its way in the world This inside account of the front lines of international diplomacy recounts nine stories from Britain"s diplomatic annals over the last 500 years. It’s an inside account of their extraordinary experiences—sometimes in the face of physical danger and often at history"s hinge. Be it Henry Killigrew"s mission to Edinburgh in 1572, Our Man in Washington and the Nassau Deal, or the handover of Hong Kong to China, we can see how Britain has viewed its interests in the world and sought to advance them. Each story is illuminated by colorful anecdotes and insights drawn from Christopher Meyer"s firsthand experience of international relations. Moreover, the book is a salutary reminder that foreign policy and diplomacy in all countries begin and end with the national interest. And far from being the preserve of aloof aristocrats, the pursuit of our national interest is replete with an extraordinary combination of high principle and low cunning, vice and virtue—all with the specific aim of getting our way.