A CIA station chief, later Jordan's lawyer in Washington, reveals the secret history of a lost peace. Jack O'Connell possessed an uncanny ability to be at the center of things. On his arrival in Jordan in 1958, he unraveled a coup aimed at the young King Hussein, who would become America's most reliable Middle East ally. Over time, their bond of trust and friendship deepened. His narrative contains secrets that will revise our understanding of the Middle East. In 1967, O'Connell tipped off Hussein that Israel would invade Egypt the next morning. Later, as Hussein's Washington counselor, O'Connell learned of Henry Kissinger's surprising role in the Yom Kippur War. The book's leitmotif is betrayal. Hussein, the Middle East's only bona fide peacemaker, wanted simply the return of the West Bank, seized in the Six-Day War. Despite American promises, the clear directive of UN Resolution 242, and the years of secret negotiations with Israel, that never happened. Hussein's dying wish was that O'Connell tell the unknown story in this book.

本書は単なるスパイの回顧録を超えた、中東現代史の深淵を抉り出す重厚な人間ドラマです。著者オコンネルとヨルダン国王フセインの間に流れる、立場を超えた強固な友情こそが本作の魂であり、歴史の荒波の中で平和を希求し続けた者たちの孤独な戦いが、一編の叙事詩のような格調高さで描かれています。 全編を貫くのは「裏切り」という残酷な旋律です。誠実な平和の探求者がいかに国際政治の権謀術数に翻弄され、約束が潰えていったか。その悲劇を白日の下に晒す著者の筆致には、友の遺志を継ぐ者の執念が宿っています。既存の歴史観を根底から揺さぶる、真実の重みに震えるような衝撃を体感してください。