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Collateral Damage: Britain, America, and Europe in the Age of Trump
One of the UK's most experienced and respected diplomats reveals the inside story behind his resignation—and his perspective on the challenges of Brexit and the Trump White House.
"@ The wacky ambassador that the UK foisted on the United States is not someone we are thrilled with, a very stupid guy . . . We will no longer deal with him."
Kim Darroch is one of the UK's most experienced and respected diplomats, and this unvarnished, behind-the-scenes account will reveal the inside story behind his resignation; describe the challenges of dealing with the Trump White House; and offer a diplomat's perspective on Brexit, and how it looked to Britain's closest ally.
Darroch was the British Ambassador to the US as the age of Trump dawned and Brexit unfolded. He explains why the British embassy expected a Trump victory from as early as February 2016, what part every key figure—from Steve Bannon to Sarah Sanders—has played in Trump's administration, and what balanced policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic should consider during this era of seismic change and populist politics.
A riveting account from the best-informed insider, Collateral Damage charts the strangest and most convulsive period in the recent history of Britain and the US—and shows how thirty months threatened to overturn three centuries of history.
"@ The wacky ambassador that the UK foisted on the United States is not someone we are thrilled with, a very stupid guy . . . We will no longer deal with him."
Kim Darroch is one of the UK's most experienced and respected diplomats, and this unvarnished, behind-the-scenes account will reveal the inside story behind his resignation; describe the challenges of dealing with the Trump White House; and offer a diplomat's perspective on Brexit, and how it looked to Britain's closest ally.
Darroch was the British Ambassador to the US as the age of Trump dawned and Brexit unfolded. He explains why the British embassy expected a Trump victory from as early as February 2016, what part every key figure—from Steve Bannon to Sarah Sanders—has played in Trump's administration, and what balanced policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic should consider during this era of seismic change and populist politics.
A riveting account from the best-informed insider, Collateral Damage charts the strangest and most convulsive period in the recent history of Britain and the US—and shows how thirty months threatened to overturn three centuries of history.
384 pages, Hardcover
Published October 13, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
September 28, 2020
Very enjoyable but nothing new. It’s always interesting to get the inside perspective, and some of his views on the ‘obviousness’ of how electorates in America and Britain voted in 2016 are very succinctly detailed. Worth a read and likely worth a quote (his sentence on how the international order is unraveling will stick with me).
August 3, 2021
Another interesting take on the inside track to Donald Trump‘s extraordinary American Presidency. Pretty easy read, not too big on policy or the big picture, but I guess an interesting insight into the daily life of one of Britain’s top diplomats. Think I’ve had about as much of Trump books as I can take. Time for a rest.
December 14, 2021
An interesting read in that it offers a new insight into the Trump administration from the perspective of the British ambassador, but offers little new in terms of events/analysis which hasn’t already been covered in existing work on this topic.
Some of the more interesting parts focused on Europe and America going forward, and there was also an interesting discussion around the EU referendum. On the whole, a fairly run of the mill political memoir, although you can’t help but feel for Darroch whose career was ended so suddenly by the leaks and by Boris Johnson, whose refusal to back him made his position untenable.
Some of the more interesting parts focused on Europe and America going forward, and there was also an interesting discussion around the EU referendum. On the whole, a fairly run of the mill political memoir, although you can’t help but feel for Darroch whose career was ended so suddenly by the leaks and by Boris Johnson, whose refusal to back him made his position untenable.
October 12, 2020
Very engaging insight into US politics - reads like a lecture spoken with authority, perspective and a self-conscious/light-hearted British bias.
February 25, 2021
A terrific read. Sir Kim makes for excellent company. And what's not to like about a man who loves Five Easy Pieces but can't stand Aerosmith?!
November 11, 2025
Interesting and insightful. I know ambassadors are supposed to be impartial about political parties but saying shit like "Jeremy Hunt, one of the most decent men in politics" is just taking the piss
October 31, 2020
There's exceptionally clear, considered analysis of US-UK relations. There's the peerless experience, access, and sometimes tantalising insight. But there's also (and this is said not entirely positively) a half-written autobiography with some twee/ some endearingly human anecdotes, some brilliant political analysis, and a strong push to be contemporary about covid.
With that, one can see that the ambition may be too broad, that genres are crossed, and that further editing could have been beneficial. It feels almost as though he was trying to write several books simultaneously in his liberation, and many of them are included in this volume, with each one distracting from rather than strengthening the other. It could have been a first-hand political thriller/ an autobiography at the end of a stellar career/ tips of the trade and reflections on. diplomacy.
Those small issues though do not take away from the fact that this is a brilliant book, by a brilliant (but necessarily somewhat tight-lipped) man. And all the more jarring when read just days before the US election.
Read alongside some of the more salacious books about Trump and his Presidency, this book is an essential counterpoint.
Further, for the student or practitioner of diplomacy, read with Brian Barder's or Tom Fletcher's books, it brings so much to life.
With that, one can see that the ambition may be too broad, that genres are crossed, and that further editing could have been beneficial. It feels almost as though he was trying to write several books simultaneously in his liberation, and many of them are included in this volume, with each one distracting from rather than strengthening the other. It could have been a first-hand political thriller/ an autobiography at the end of a stellar career/ tips of the trade and reflections on. diplomacy.
Those small issues though do not take away from the fact that this is a brilliant book, by a brilliant (but necessarily somewhat tight-lipped) man. And all the more jarring when read just days before the US election.
Read alongside some of the more salacious books about Trump and his Presidency, this book is an essential counterpoint.
Further, for the student or practitioner of diplomacy, read with Brian Barder's or Tom Fletcher's books, it brings so much to life.
March 23, 2023
I was prepared for the meals. Diplomatic memoirs often go deep on meals they attended. Its a potential hot detail that passes the sensors. I often treat them as tea leaves regarding the personalities of the diplomats in question. Was a dining room lavishly decorated (a stickler for protocol?), Does he go out of the way to mention a banquet thrown in his or someone's honor (vainity?) Does the author go out of his way to tell me about sneaking off to some exotic local street food (risk-taker?)
I was pretty disappointed here or maybe I was expecting a different book more about Anglo-American relations. I briefly met the author and the writing is fine.
Yet, this is little more than Trump book with a little bit of Brexit. Nothing here is really remarkable but, its told fairly enough. Its a shame because he was, as he points out, in the room for some historic moments. We the readers are not in those rooms. And in re-telling the Trump presidency there are only a few insights and sometimes pedestrian details passed off as such.( Scaramucci apparently means small skirmish in Italian!)
Its also a book that hasn't held up well with time. Reading it this year I found little relevance to current concerns which is frustrating because the author can be insightful at times. Look maybe much of what he wanted to say was cut out due to censorship but, you can feel the missed oppurtunities. He mentions in passing Boris Johnson testing a sports car on the embassy grounds but, never goes into detail.
I read this book after reading "The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America
Hannan, Daniel" which is from 2010 but, has held up better I think than this book in terms of usefulness.
I was pretty disappointed here or maybe I was expecting a different book more about Anglo-American relations. I briefly met the author and the writing is fine.
Yet, this is little more than Trump book with a little bit of Brexit. Nothing here is really remarkable but, its told fairly enough. Its a shame because he was, as he points out, in the room for some historic moments. We the readers are not in those rooms. And in re-telling the Trump presidency there are only a few insights and sometimes pedestrian details passed off as such.( Scaramucci apparently means small skirmish in Italian!)
Its also a book that hasn't held up well with time. Reading it this year I found little relevance to current concerns which is frustrating because the author can be insightful at times. Look maybe much of what he wanted to say was cut out due to censorship but, you can feel the missed oppurtunities. He mentions in passing Boris Johnson testing a sports car on the embassy grounds but, never goes into detail.
I read this book after reading "The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America
Hannan, Daniel" which is from 2010 but, has held up better I think than this book in terms of usefulness.
November 22, 2020
I listened to this book on Audible, where it is narrated by the author, Kim Darroch in his gentle undulating staccato speech that is almost as mesmerising as the lapping of the waves. I could see how, by his account, many of his one-to-one meetings as U.K. Ambassador to Washington often lasted far longer than had been tabled.
That Ambassadorial posting was brought to a premature end by the leaking of his now famous confidential memo — with what most saw as an accurate and honest description of that new administration.
The book takes us on a even-handed insider’s journey through the run up to the 2016 US Presidential election and the chaotic early years of the newly elected Trump administration. Along the way, Darroch gives us insights into the U.K. government of David Cameron, the EU referendum, and Theresa May’s subsequent handling of the aftermath.
While there is no startling new revelation in the book, it was an enjoyable rerun of recent history that helped remind me of ‘how we got here’. Particularly fascinating were the passages covering the 2016 US Election Day, which by pure coincidence I found myself reading during the spectacles we enjoyed during the US election week earlier this month!
That Ambassadorial posting was brought to a premature end by the leaking of his now famous confidential memo — with what most saw as an accurate and honest description of that new administration.
The book takes us on a even-handed insider’s journey through the run up to the 2016 US Presidential election and the chaotic early years of the newly elected Trump administration. Along the way, Darroch gives us insights into the U.K. government of David Cameron, the EU referendum, and Theresa May’s subsequent handling of the aftermath.
While there is no startling new revelation in the book, it was an enjoyable rerun of recent history that helped remind me of ‘how we got here’. Particularly fascinating were the passages covering the 2016 US Election Day, which by pure coincidence I found myself reading during the spectacles we enjoyed during the US election week earlier this month!
January 13, 2021
Full disclosure, I worked for Sir Kim (now Lord Darroch) for a year so I was going to enjoy this book regardless. The public may have an image in mind of the British Ambassador to the US as an intellectual Oxford man with an air of superiority and pompous. Perhaps even a top hat. This couldn’t be further from the truth in the case of Kim Darroch. Kim (and his wife Vanessa, who he speaks so fondly of in the book) is exceedingly warm, approachable, funny, intelligent, and all together quite normal for a man with such an extraordinary career. His book is written in the same tone. It makes the recollection of the past four years tolerable, if not enjoyable, in many sections. There has been no one better suited to recount “what happened” in the cases of Brexit and Trump than Darroch. The book is a fascinating account of being “in the room where it happened.” Furthermore, he weaves in his own biography and career trajectory to break up the chapters. I found that endearing, remarkable, and very interesting indeed.
October 11, 2020
For me the best Trump book I have read so far. He had a ring side seat and was at the top of his game as US ambassador to Washington. The book is full of wry and astute observations from
“Ye shall know them by their phone cases.”
To
“I struggled to find a single phrase that encapsulated and made coherent these objectives. The best that I could invent was that it was a ‘reset foreign policy’; that it was about turning the clock back and wiping out ‘bad’ deals, whether in trade, in the Middle East or on climate change. To the extent that it dealt with the future at all, it was by default: reverse the mistakes and America would be in a better place. Also, it was a unilateral reset: there seemed no place in the Trump vision of the world for allies. They were either ignored or abused in his campaign speeches. It was America Alone.”
His take on Brexit was pretty good as well.
“Ye shall know them by their phone cases.”
To
“I struggled to find a single phrase that encapsulated and made coherent these objectives. The best that I could invent was that it was a ‘reset foreign policy’; that it was about turning the clock back and wiping out ‘bad’ deals, whether in trade, in the Middle East or on climate change. To the extent that it dealt with the future at all, it was by default: reverse the mistakes and America would be in a better place. Also, it was a unilateral reset: there seemed no place in the Trump vision of the world for allies. They were either ignored or abused in his campaign speeches. It was America Alone.”
His take on Brexit was pretty good as well.
February 9, 2025
In all honesty this book wasn’t what I expected it to be. It was much more biographical than I’d expected. Despite this I must say I enjoyed it and that the different perspective offered by a diplomat was something I enjoyed very much. Throughout the book it was clearly that he was largely very knowledgeable on what he spoke about, although I must say it was clear to see that he is not educated on Scotland its politics and national mood, although he did try. Regardless everything else he seemed to be extremely knowledgeable of in the ins and outs of everything. My only other criticism is with the writing itself. Sometimes he found it very difficult to stay on one topic and would jump rather rapidly between Trumps white house and Mays handling of Brexit.
October 21, 2020
Najlepšia kniha o Trumpovi a súčasnej Amerike - za predpokladu, že ste čítali Woodwarda alebo Wolffa. Dnes už vieme azda všetko o tom, ako sa správa Trump a ako funguje jeho Biely dom, Darroch k tomu ponúka pohľad britského veľvyslanca, ktorého skvelá kariéra skončila práve kvôli Trumpovi.
Je to aj pohľad do zákulisia diplomacie a zaujímavý popis toho, ako pracuje veľvyslanec na jednom z najdôležitejších postov.
Darroch sa venuje aj dianiu v Británii, ale tam je cítiť, že nechce ísť do hĺbky a uraziť svojich bývalých kolegov. K brexitu však má viacero zaujímavých komentárov.
Kniha je slabšia v momentoch, keď sa Darroch príliš podrobne venuje vývoju a popisu známych udalostí.
Je to aj pohľad do zákulisia diplomacie a zaujímavý popis toho, ako pracuje veľvyslanec na jednom z najdôležitejších postov.
Darroch sa venuje aj dianiu v Británii, ale tam je cítiť, že nechce ísť do hĺbky a uraziť svojich bývalých kolegov. K brexitu však má viacero zaujímavých komentárov.
Kniha je slabšia v momentoch, keď sa Darroch príliš podrobne venuje vývoju a popisu známych udalostí.
April 19, 2021
This was a very enjoyable book to read. Although there is little in terms of history that anyone who follows the news reasonable closely would not know, it is fascinating to see it described from the perspective of the British ambassador to the USA. Kim Darroch is always careful to remain the diplomat that he is. Nevertheless, there's enough in terms of quotes and oblique references to give a hint of deeper thoughts.
It's a shame that the book doesn't cover the result of the 2020 election and the subsequent transfer of power. Nevertheless, I recommend this book to anyone who would like an easy read that covers most of the Trump presidency from the perspective of a British diplomat.
It's a shame that the book doesn't cover the result of the 2020 election and the subsequent transfer of power. Nevertheless, I recommend this book to anyone who would like an easy read that covers most of the Trump presidency from the perspective of a British diplomat.
September 18, 2023
Lielbritānijas vēstnieka ASV pieraksti par laiku, ko viņš pavadīja Vašingtonā neilgi pirms un kādu laiku pēc D.Trampa ievēlēšanas.
Tā kā politiskās nianses, amatu maiņas, galvenie administrācijas lēmumi utt. jau gana daudz bija aprakstīti presē, par to neko sevišķi jaunu neuzzināju. Tomēr grāmata tāpat škita ļoti interesanta - visvairāk sadaļās par pieredzēm ārpus Vašingtonas, diplomātiskā dienesta funkcionēšanu Lielbritānijā un paša autora dzīves gājumu. Būtu priecājusies, ja par to grāmatā būtu bijis vēl vairāk.
Valoda bija lieliska, un trāpīgie raksturojumi, ironija un politiskās anekdotes lasīšanu (pat sadaļās, kas bija jau par zināmo) padarīja vieglu un patīkamu.
Tā kā politiskās nianses, amatu maiņas, galvenie administrācijas lēmumi utt. jau gana daudz bija aprakstīti presē, par to neko sevišķi jaunu neuzzināju. Tomēr grāmata tāpat škita ļoti interesanta - visvairāk sadaļās par pieredzēm ārpus Vašingtonas, diplomātiskā dienesta funkcionēšanu Lielbritānijā un paša autora dzīves gājumu. Būtu priecājusies, ja par to grāmatā būtu bijis vēl vairāk.
Valoda bija lieliska, un trāpīgie raksturojumi, ironija un politiskās anekdotes lasīšanu (pat sadaļās, kas bija jau par zināmo) padarīja vieglu un patīkamu.
February 3, 2025
For anyone with any background in political science, or indeed was just watching the news in 2016-2020, this book doesn’t cover any new ground. What it does of however is cover that same ground with a really interesting perspective, and in a manner that is entirely digestible and honestly really engaging. Don’t let the book’s subtitle fool you - this is a book about Trump and American populism primarily, but there is plenty of discussion of British populism and the Brexit vote, as unavoidable as it is. I wish I had read this when I was writing my dissertation!
December 16, 2020
Enjoyed very much. I liked the insight into American politics. The electoral system there was a bit of a mystery but Kim explains it well which I found very interesting. He also reflects on why the rise of populism here and in the states which is considered and balanced and gives an even handed appraisal of why brexit happened and the failures of Europe to ‘get’ the British along with the British seeking a version of life that probably never really did exist.
January 18, 2021
Bends over backwards to be even handed and goes against the general consensus and experiences of everyone else who has worked with and for many uk and us political figures in his assessment of their abilities
On the rise of trump he is on more solid ground as it is obvious now how the marginalisation of many drew them to someone who promised them everything knowing full well he could not deliver
On the rise of trump he is on more solid ground as it is obvious now how the marginalisation of many drew them to someone who promised them everything knowing full well he could not deliver
April 24, 2021
Whilst I didn’t feel like I learnt anything radically new about that period in terms of American politics, it was still an interesting read and I liked getting an understanding of things from his perspective.
May 13, 2021
Breskir sendiherrann í Bandaríkjunum segir frá tíma sínum þar og afsögninn sem kom í kjölfarið á því að trúnaðarskeytum til bresku ríkisstjórnarinnar var lekið í blöðin. Áhugaverð og nokkuð skemmtileg lesning.
May 19, 2021
A very good account of events throughout the 2010s. Darroch offers an insight into the response of the US government following the Brexit vote in a well written, albeit depressing way. This is before delving into the UKs awkward and strainded relationship with the Trump administration.
November 11, 2020
An excellent and very readable account of very recent history and of the troubled times in which we are now living.
December 29, 2020
An enjoyable read, which gives a good insight into the state of Trumps America by someone who was in the inside. Told with a good sense of humour, I would recommend this book to anyone who has a interest in UK/US politics
April 3, 2021
Provides an insightful assessment of the Brexit/Trump era from a diplomat trained to look at national and cultural trends.
April 13, 2021
Enjoyable canter through the last few years of UK-US relations. Enjoyed the dissection of why Trump and why Brexit ...
May 28, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. Very well written and easy to understand. It gives a good first hand experience of recent events in UK-US politics. Recommend this book.
February 9, 2022
Interesting, not just about Trump, but about the role of an ambassador and what an ambassador does. What we learn about Trump is nothing new but the perspective is what makes it different.
March 14, 2022
Interesting read, though nothing in here is a particular surprise though some Interesting insights and perspective on the Trump years and the relationship with the UK.
April 2, 2022
A useful insight into how a modern Ambassador operates though it added very little to what I already knew about the Trump Presidency
September 14, 2022
The author is indeed "wacky" in the gallows humour that punctuates the book - a bit of a slow start, but makes more sense the more you read it. A good perspective from the US-UK angle.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews