This reviewer, however, was particularly interested in the occasional glimpses of major figures in South Asia today - terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam (and incidentally the scientist who spearheaded India's nuclear program), Congress leader Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh - during the period of Mr. Talbott's tenure. In sharp contrast to President Clinton's lackluster accounts in his much less entertaining My Life', Mr. Talbott's version of these meetings is instructive, juicy, and takes great pains with subtext as he weaves them into his narrative in a fashion that sheds new light on the actions of these people today.

For example, the Indian Prime Minister who inked the nuclear deal with President George W. Bush a few weeks ago is the same man who in 1998 had paid impassive attention to Mr. Talbott's entreaties to Mrs. Gandhi (then leader of India's Opposition) to support the CTBT. Meanwhile, even as his own allies on the Left are less than happy with his deal, that very PM has found basic support in the Opposition benches of the BJP, the same party of Mr. Talbott's greatest Indian ally in the fight to ratify the CTBT, Jaswant Singh. On a grimmer note, we are briefly introduced to the Taliban regime and their part in the liberation of Omar Sheikh, the terrorist who would go on to murder Daniel Pearl.

As Mr. Talbott and his men skulk around international airports, meeting leaders and making top secret plans to run the world, you understand that this is politics, both domestic and international, at its most cutthroat. It is a fascinating account.

Engaging India: Diplomacy, Democracy and the Bomb is a must read for those interested in South Asia and nuclear diplomacy, not just because of its sheer readability but because it is an honest effort to look at diplomacy, democracy and the bomb outside the set limits of Mr. Talbott's role as a former American administrator. And in the process he provides us with more than 200 of the most entertaining pages available on recent world history.