Brink

“Readers don’t expect an edge-of-your-seat thriller from a diplomat. But Brett McGurk delivers one with Brink. It is the brutal story of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that left over a thousand Israelis slaughtered and 250 taken into Gaza as hostages. What follows is an account of McGurk’s unrelenting effort to rescue as many of those hostages as possible. It is a tale of promise and frustration, of hope and despair, of sadness and pain and, ultimately, of the persistence and resolve of an extraordinary diplomat.”—Robert M. Gates, U.S. Secretary of Defense 2006-2011

“The massacre in Israel by Hamas gunmen in the fall of 2023 kicked off the most tumultuous and far-reaching changes in the region’s history. Brett McGurk takes us inside the White House to give us a dramatic and intimate account of those epochal days, from the moment Israel’s fences were breached to his agonizing final efforts to free Hamas’ hostages. Brink is as riveting as a suspense novel—except it’s true.”—Dexter Filkins, Pulitzer Prize–winning foreign correspondent and author of The Forever War

“I have known Brett McGurk through years when the United States faced some of its hardest tests in modern foreign policy. Across administrations of both parties, he earned the confidence of presidents, diplomats, military commanders, and allies through his strategic discipline, mastery of detail, and steady judgment under pressure. In Brink, McGurk brings readers inside the difficult reality of modern statecraft, where diplomacy unfolds in the shadow of war and every decision carries consequence. A serious book about a serious time.”—General Jim Mattis, USMC (Retired), U.S. Secretary of Defense 2017-2018

“A real life thriller, brilliantly written. McGurk takes you into the rooms where it happened, from the Oval Office to a tent in the Saudi desert, with the presidents, prime ministers and royalty who made it happen. Brink is the latest chapter in McGurk’s extraordinary career, spanning four presidencies and covering the war in Iraq, the rise and fall of ISIS and the elusive quest for Middle East peace.”—Ambassador Ryan Crocker, six-time U.S. ambassador, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

“An extraordinary and riveting insider account of diplomacy at the edge of war. Brett McGurk takes us inside the highest-stakes negotiations after October 7, revealing with remarkable immediacy how force, leverage, persistence, and personal relationships shaped the effort to free the Israeli hostages and contain a regional conflagration. Brink is statecraft rendered as a page-turner—authoritative, candid, deeply human, and masterfully told.”—General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.); former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Commander, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan; former Director of the CIA; co-author of Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare From 1945 to Gaza; Kissinger Fellow, Yale University

“Brett McGurk is one of the finest public servants I have ever known, and no book I have read captures the inner working of high-stakes diplomacy better than Brink. The raw emotions, the twists and turns, the gut-wrenching losses and the inspiring and hopeful outcomes will keep the reader glued to the pages. Brink is the book we all need right now to restore our faith in those who serve the American people.”—Admiral William H. McRaven, US Navy (Retired)

“This riveting account of a high-stakes bipartisan effort to free hostages is a case study of what diplomacy should be.”—Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Steve Jobs and Elon Musk

Brett McGurk served at the highest levels of American national security across four presidential administrations. Most recently, he was deputy assistant for National Security Affairs to President Joe Biden, where he coordinated policy for the Middle East and North Africa.

He earlier served as special presidential envoy to presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, where he led the global coalition against ISIS. Under President Obama, he also led secret talks with Iran to free several American hostages held in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, later receiving the James Foley Freedom Award for hostage diplomacy.

He is currently a global affairs analyst for CNN and a distinguished fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center and the Atlantic Council.

McGurk earned a bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Connecticut and a JD from Columbia Law School. After law school, he clerked for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on the U.S. Supreme Court.

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