With the reelection of Donald Trump, there is no reason to believe that debate about America's relationship with NATO will subside. As Jens Stoltenberg demonstrates in On My Watch, his account of leading the military alliance across an explosive decade, NATO remains a powerful and essential agent of stability. From Russia's annexation of Crimea, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, and the brutal war launched by Russia against Ukraine in 2022, to close cooperation with Donald Trump and other US presidents, Stoltenberg had a front-row seat to the signal events of our era.

And he has shaped the responses to those events, navigating among competing interests to galvanize Western support for Ukraine while avoiding a world war. He showed that the alliance has an enduring role to play not just in Europe, but across the globe. On My Watch is a necessary read for anyone seeking to understand our fractured world.