Making Peace

Former United States senator George Mitchell tells the inside story of how he maneuvered the warring factions of Northern Ireland into signing the Good Friday peace agreement in 1998. This was no small task, requiring him to bring together Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, Catholic moderate John Hume, Protestant politico David Trimble, unionist Ian Paisley, Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern, and British prime minister Tony Blair. Mitchell's prose is a model of clarity--a surprising quality coming from the pen of a politician, especially one of the most partisan Senate majority leaders of all time. There is plenty of detail about the negotiations and all of their turns, but never so much as to become tedious. Along the way, Mitchell offers interesting asides on achieving success in politics and "As majority leader of the United States Senate, I had learned that when you've got the votes, you vote. Delay can only hurt." It's too soon to know the ultimate outcome of Mitchell's labors, but initial signs are hopeful, suggesting that this memoir might have real staying power. --John J. Miller