A determined American president's extraordinary efforts to help solve "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland-- The inside story of the secret White House negotiations with the IRA, the furious rows between Britain and the U.S., and the consequences for war and peace in Ireland-- Based on interviews with President Clinton, Senator Christopher Dodd, Senator George Mitchell, National Security Adviser Anthony Lake, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams, and many othersIn November 1995, on the Belfast peace line, President Clinton issued a declaration to those who would use violence for political gain: you are the past; your day is over. Ten weeks later a massive IRA bomb ripped through London's Canary Wharf, killing two people and causing millions of pounds' worth of damage. Prospects for lasting peace fell among the injured.These high and low points of an emerging peace process are recounted by Belfast native Conor O'Clery. His account expertly tracks the efforts of everyone involved -- government officials on both sides, IRA leaders, and individual Americans and Irish-Americans -- in bringing about an end to the deadly conflict that has lasted more than a quarter of a century. This is an insider's view of how President Clinton made his controversial decisions on Ireland in defiance of Britain.

Drawing on his access to all the decision makers from his years as a Washington reporter, including Deputy National Security Adviser Nancy Soderberg, former House Speaker Tom Foley, James Molyneaux of the Ulster Unionist Party, and Social Democratic and Labour Party leader John Hume, O'Clery tells the story of backdoor diplomacy, international intrigue, and the monumental struggle between twoworld powers with his customary color, insight, and analysis.