cover image The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times

The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times

Mohamed ElBaradei. Metropolitan, $27 (352p) ISBN 978-0-8050-9350-6

The Egyptian reform leader and Nobel peace laureate recalls his controversial tenure at the International Atomic Energy Agency in this spirited memoir. ElBaradei recounts his years as chief of the U.N.'s nuclear nonproliferation inspectorate, a job that thrust him into global crises over nuclear programs in Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. He recounts ferreting out the nuclear secrets of the world's most paranoid regimes, nerve-wracking adventures full of intrigue, car chases, and Pyongyang's grim hotel accommodations. ElBaradei's accounts of diplomacy, his delicate negotiations%E2%80%94much hinged on the crucial difference between a "pause" and a "time out" in Iran's uranium enrichment project%E2%80%94are fascinating and rife with acerbic portraits of George W. Bush, Tony Blair, and other world leaders. ElBaradei fences with critics who accused him of being soft on rogue regimes, and pillories Western nations' haughty, abrasive treatment of developing countries and their hypocrisy in denying nuclear technology to others while ignoring their own treaty obligations to disarm. The result is a lively, outspoken take on recent geo-political confrontations that makes an impassioned case for using persuasion rather than punishment to resolve the direst threats. Photos. (Apr.)