![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/IWP2188_043.jpg)
Reception for “Our Man”
On the afternoon of June 24, 2019, in Aspen, Colorado, American Academy trustee Leah Joy Zell hosted a reception for George Packer on the occasion of his latest book, Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century, published by Knopf in May. Packer began research for this book in 2014 while a fellow at the American Academy, which Richard Holbrooke founded in 1994.
Joining the reception in Aspen, among other distinguished guests, were author and biographer Walter Isaacson and former US ambassador Christopher Hill, a spring 2019 Academy Distinguished Visitor, as well as Academy alumni Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, and George Frampton, who just finished a semester at the Academy as the inaugural Richard C. Holbrooke Fellow.
Packer’s bestselling book traces the arc of Holbrooke’s energetic career, from his early days in the foreign service to his tireless diplomatic work in Vietnam, Bosnia, and up to his final assignment, as Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan; he died in December 2010. Packer also delves into Holbrooke’s personal life, describing his rapacious intellectual appetite, abrasive confrontational style, wide-ranging international engagements, and romantic relationships. Kurt Campbell wrote the following in the Financial Times of Our Man: “Packer brilliantly describes Holbrooke’s personal journey . . . exploring along the way how wars came to shape him — and how Holbrooke applied his considerable guile, fortitude, and intelligence to shape the course of conflicts.”
George Packer will be at the American Academy in Berlin in November 2019 for a reading of Our Man. Please check our events page in early fall for registration.
Share This
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Website-Final.jpg)
The Spring 2024 Program
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/01_KP_0093_Maltzahns-Schlöndorff-Kornblum-greet-Gore.jpg)
Al Gore at the American Academy
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/1407197_©_Glave-Custom.jpg)
A Centennial Birthday
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/T5K8732.jpg)
Remembering George H.W. Bush (1924-2018)
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/HKP2023_1.jpg)
Jens Stoltenberg Receives the 2023 Henry A. Kissinger Prize
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/McCainteaser-1.jpg)
John McCain Receives the 2018 Henry A. Kissinger Prize
BERLIN—May 3, 2018—The American Academy in Berlin has awarded the 2018 Henry A. Kissinger Prize…
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/spring2019program.jpg)
The Spring 2019 Program
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/midtermmap.jpg)
The US Midterm Elections
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fall2020programNews.jpg)
The Fall 2020 Program
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Image-Grid_08.jpg)
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier Receives the 2022 Henry A. Kissinger Prize
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/weiss2.jpg)
Museums, Architecture, and Social Engagement
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/winter2018programteaser.jpg)
The Winter 2018 Program
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Fall2021Program.jpg)
The Spring 2021 Program
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/duyunfordb.jpeg)
The Deutsche Bank Fellowship in Music Composition
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/D-11.jpg)
Panel Discussion: US-German Relations One Year Later
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Haubnews-1.jpg)
Remembering Erivan Haub (1932-2018)
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Jafa-7-Ralph-K.-Penno.jpg)
Max Beckmann Talk with Arthur Jafa
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-25-Berlin-Prize-Fellows.jpg)
The 2024-25 Berlin Prize Fellows
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/goeltz-e1585218666859.jpg)
Remembering Richard K. Goeltz (1942-2020)
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-23-Class-of-Fellows.jpg)
The 2022-23 Berlin Prize Fellows
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/8C5A3915.jpg)
Beyond “Wilkommenskultur”
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/HKP-Merkel-1.jpg)
Angela Merkel Receives the Henry A. Kissinger Prize
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DIE-ZEIT_James-Comey_c_Phil-Dera_067.jpg)
James Comey Book Presentation
On Tuesday, June 19, 2018, former director of the FBI James Comey joined DIE ZEIT’s…
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/fall2023program1.jpg)
The Fall 2023 Program
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/LeibingerDinner3.jpg)
Remembering Berthold Leibinger (1930-2018)
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/kirchick.jpg)
James Kirchick on the End of Europe
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/spring2018program.jpg)
The Spring 2018 Program
This spring offers a range of timely lecture topics at the American Academy in Berlin,…
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-19-Class-of-Fellows-.jpg)
The 2018-19 Berlin Prize
BERLIN—April 25, 2018—The American Academy in Berlin has awarded Berlin Prizes—semester-long fellowships in Berlin—to 24…
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/fall2021program.jpg)
The Fall 2021 Program
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/fall2019program.jpg)
The Fall 2019 Program
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Apply-for-a-Fellowship-large-Stefan-Müller.jpg)
Apply for a 2023-24 Berlin Prize
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/shultz3.jpg)
Remembering George P. Shultz (1920-2021)
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BJ36_Cover_News.jpg)
The 2022-23 Berlin Journal
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/BJ32news.jpg)
Berlin Journal 32
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Gray.jpg)
C. Boyden Gray (1943-2023)
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Opener.jpg)
Remembering Madeleine Albright (1937−2022)
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/IMG_0165.jpg)
Katholisches Schulzentrum Edith Stein
On the afternoon of Friday, April 13, 2018, American Academy president Michael P. Steinberg visited…
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Stuttgarter-Schloss.jpg)
New Stuttgart Head-to-Head Series Partnerships
The American Academy’s Head-to-Head Series was established in 2012 to strengthen German-American ties in the…
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Mellon-white-1.jpg)
The Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities
![](https://www.americanacademy.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2474_142.jpg)
Remembering Wolfgang Mayrhuber (1947-2018)
The American Academy in Berlin mourns the passing of Wolfgang Mayrhuber (seen in the above…