More than 20 years have elapsed since the United States last brokered a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians.

In that time, three presidents have tried and failed. Now, in an attempt to understand the arc of American diplomatic influence in the Middle East, author Martin Indyk—a former United States ambassador to Israel and special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in 2013—returns to the origins of American-led peace efforts and to the man who created the Middle East peace process—Henry Kissinger.

Based on newly available documents from American and Israeli archives, extensive interviews with Kissinger, and Indyk’s own interactions with some of the main players, the author takes readers inside the negotiations.