Our man: Richard Holbrooke and the end of the American century

Richard Holbrooke was one of the most legendary and complicated figures in recent American history. Brilliant, utterly self-absorbed, and possessed of almost inhuman energy and appetites, he was both admired and detested. From his days as a young adviser in Vietnam to his last efforts to end the war in Afghanistan, Holbrooke embodied the postwar American impulse to take the lead on the global stage. His power lay in an utter belief in himself and his idea of a muscular, generous foreign policy. But his sharp elbows and tireless self-promotion ensured that he never rose to the highest levels in government. Holbrooke's story is the story of the rise and fall of America during its era of supremacy, its strength, drive, and sense of possibility, as well as its penchant for overreach and heedless self-confidence.