Fiona Hill (2) (1965–)

Ms. Hill provides a wonderful overview of what it's like to go from being a coal-miner's daughter to working in three successive White Houses. What she reveals about working in the Trump White House is, at this point in time, not a surprise. It's obvious that our democratic structures were sorely tested, but managed to keep it together. This time. She concludes the book with a recipe for strengthening the underpinnings of our society through various partnerships, eschewing a top-down management for more localized control over the application of federal funds to specific needs. She does an excellent job of comparing and contrasting the UK, US and Russia as they dealt with similar problems and shows why there is no "one size fits all" for solving domestic problems.… (mehr)

I was fascinated by this book that was largely a memoir of the Russia expert who told the story to Congress of what had happened in Ukraine - the conspiracy amongst Trumpists to sideline Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and attempt to extort Ukraine President Zlensky in 2019. Her frequent references to her childhood and ancestry in deindustrialized North East England gave the reader an in-depth view into who she was, and where she came from. Much more of the book is about her journey - yes, not a figure of speech - through the University of Saint Andrews, multiple study trips to Russia, unexpected encounters with numerous people who opened doors for her or gave her the chance at opening ideas and changes in her life.
I felt enthused during the entire reading of this book and am very happy - and grateful - that she is in our world.… (mehr)