Why should it matter that diplomats like Richard Holbrook are no longer around on the

world stage?

George Packer will be here to talk about his book, Our Man, Richard Holbrook and the end

of the American Century.

Wondering whether you should be in therapy?

Author Lori Gottlieb, a therapist herself, may well persuade you.

She'll be here to discuss her new book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.

Plus we'll talk about what we and the wider world are reading.

This is the Booker View Podcast from the New York Times.

I'm Pamela Paul.

Joining us now is George Packer.

He is the author of The Unwinding, which won the National Book Award and the Assassin's

Gate among other books.

And his latest is called Our Man, Richard Holbrook and the End of the American Century.

George thinks they're being here.

Nice to be with you, Pamela.

So why did you decide to write a book about Richard Holbrook?

It sort of chose me in a way that isn't typical and maybe not advisable for every book.

After he died, a couple of his friends came to me and said, You Should Write a Book

About Him.

This was back in 2010, early 2011.

I'd written a profile in the New Yorker in 2009 of Holbrook.

...