In his long and multifaceted career as a diplomat, international lawyer, and statesman, George W. Ball has been at the center of many crises. His book is filled with candid portraits of major figures on the world stage, as well as keen and controversial insights into past and present international problems. Perhaps the most dramatic chapters describe the lonely and protracted fight waged by Mr. Ball, then undersecretary of state in the Johnson and Kennedy administrations, against our Vietnam involvement. He presents a spirited account of that struggle and reveals how Nixon and Kissinger, through a fatal error in negotiating strategy, prolonged the war for four years.