Africa is not for the faint-hearted -- John Freeman -- Gilbert and Sullivan in the Carribbean -- 'The sick man of Europe' -- 'A long-standing source of grief' -- 'Any self-respecting terrorist has an AK-47' -- 'That little ice-cold bunch of land down there' -- 'We have ceased to be a nation in retreat' -- The 'zero option' -- 'The British government had been made to look impotent' -- 'Getting our money back' -- 'We decided to give the go-ahead for the Channel Tunnel -- 'I would be afraid that she might poison me' -- Defying Adam Smith -- 'If you want to get out of a hole, the first thing you have to do is stop digging' -- 'The whole world will be against you' -- A friendship with De Klerk -- 'You can tell your Prime Minister that she will not be disappointed' -- The real Mandela -- 'He is a bigger man than the others and this will show' -- 'For a political leader who loses the support of his followers, it remains only to write his memoirs' -- 'How do I get her on my side?' -- 'The only alternative to negotiations now is negotiations later -- 'We can hardly drop them on Lusaka or Soweto' -- A specially close relationship -- Getting to know the Clintons -- Towards a peace in Northern Ireland -- 'We do not have a dog in this fight' -- Fighting with allies -- 'Never forget that we are not on your side' -- A parting shot -- When Atlas shrugs -- Wars of choice -- Hotel California -- 'Is he lucky?'.

"Described as Mrs Thatcher’s favourite diplomat, Robin Renwick was at the centre of events in the negotiations to end the Rhodesian War. As Ambassador in South Africa, he played a bridging role between the government and the ANC, having become a trusted personal friend of Nelson Mandela and of F. W. de Klerk.

In the Foreign Office, he played an integral part in forging the agreement that returned two thirds of our contribution to the European budget back to Britain.

In Washington, where he became a confidant of George Bush Sr, then of Bill Clinton, he was deemed an exceptionally influential British Ambassador whose efforts were devoted to getting the US and its allies to take the actions needed to end the Bosnian War.

Not Quite A Diplomat looks back over an illustrious career in the foreign service and paints vivid and revealing first-hand portraits of some of the giants of international politics over the past forty years, from Mandela and Mugabe to George Bush Sr, the Clintons and Margaret Thatcher. In this entertaining memoir, Renwick examines why diplomacy too often consists of ineffective posturing, and explores the likely effects of Brexit, Trump and, potentially, Jeremy Corbyn on Britain’s standing in the world." -- Taken from dust jacket.