Diana Preston is an acclaimed historian and author of the definitive Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy, Before the Fallout: From Marie Curie to Hiroshima (winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology), The Boxer Rebellion, and The Dark Defile: Britain's Catastrophic Invasion of Afghanistan, 1838-1842, among other works of narrative history. She and her husband, Michael, live in London.
A colorful chronicle of high-stakes negotiations and a study in human frailties, missteps and ideological blinders. -- Matthew Dallek * Washington Post * Diana Preston tells it fluently, perceptively and with meticulous scholarship. -- Rodric Braithwaite * Spectator * Diana Preston chronicles those eight momentous days brilliantly. * Choice Magazine * Impressively researched . . . expert account * Kirkus Reviews * Diana Preston's lively and nuanced account, place[s] the protagonists much more in their moment, as the war was still raging and they were making decisions based on the information to hand . . . shrewd . . . vivid scene-setting -- Victor Sebestyen * Sunday Times * Diana Preston brings dry diplomacy to life. Sound in historical judgement and strong on personalities and emotions, she gives the reader a special pass to watch the world-changing events in the Livadia Palace from all the closest angles. -- Norman Davies, author of <i>Europe: A History </i>