The Last Palace

by Norman Eisen (Crown, 2018)

A Publishers Weekly, BookPage,
and Pen America Best Book of 2018

“A deft and fascinating narrative…The Last Palace is steeped in politics, military history, architectural lore and anecdotes… Mr. Eisen’s easy, fluid style and the richness of his material make for very pleasurable historical reading.” 

—Wall Street Journal
“The book’s main characters are captivating. The palace itself has a ghostly allure.” 

—The Economist
“Meticulous… fascinating… Reading this book, you are reminded of the many missed opportunities that the United States and other Western allies had to encourage and assist democracy in Central Europe. It is not clear that we have learned from history as we are once again confronting nationalist, nativist and anti-democratic politicians and movements backed or amplified by Russia in Europe and beyond.” 

–Washington Post
“Yields illuminating insights on some of the twentieth century’s major dramas: the things that might have happened but didn’t, the importance of particular personalities, and the possibilities and limits of diplomacy in the face of power…Through his interweaving of the personal and the political, [Eisen] enlarges and enlivens our understanding of one small country’s confrontation with history, and of a past that matters to us all.” 

–The Times Literary Supplement

“Engrossing… This action-packed yet lyrically written page-turner confers a fascinating human understanding of Europe’s past and present.” 

—Publishers Weekly (starred)

“Eisen casts each successive caretaker of the palace as uniquely heroic and in so doing writes a wonderfully human history.” 

—Booklist (starred)  

“Norman Eisen has written an enthralling history of a palace and its very real ghosts. By telling the story of the Prague mansion where he resided as America’s ambassador, Eisen provides a poignant reflection on the haunting twists of the past century, including his own very American family tale.” 

—Walter Isaacson

“Moving, engaging, and elegantly written, The Last Palace wears its erudition lightly, casts its radiant intelligence fearlessly into the darkest corners of the twentieth century and, effortlessly, reliably, breaks your heart again and again.” 

—Michael Chabon

“Combining both the personal and the historical, Norman Eisen’s remarkable book transports us into the battle for democracy through the lives of people who fought to save it and those who would seek to destroy it. The Last Palace is not only a first-rate work of history, but a call to action written at a time of urgent need.” 

—Madeleine Albright

“At a time when we find ourselves newly nostalgic for courageous public officials and American leadership on behalf of human rights, Eisen has written a pearl of a book. Using an ornate palace in Prague as the backdrop for his fast-paced narrative, Eisen tells the tale of the last stormy century through the eyes of several vibrant characters who helped shape it — from a stubborn businessman who, Willy Wonka-like, builds an implausibly ornate palace as war clouds loom; to Shirley Temple Black, the Czech-American envoy who acts decisively in the side of dissidents during the Velvet Revolution; to Eisen himself, who, as Obama’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, raises his voice on behalf of human rights amid growing populism and extremism. The Last Palace is a great read and a stirring reminder of the importance of decency in public life.” 

—Samantha Power 

“As America’s Ambassador in Prague, Norman Eisen had an extraordinary relationship with the Czech Republic and its history: his mother said the Nazis took her family out in boxcars and her son came back on Air Force One. The Last Palace combines human drama with geopolitical and historical sweep and does it with evident love and painstaking investigation.” 

—John Kerry

“Norman Eisen pulls back the curtains to reveal history’s secrets in this rich, personal, and wise book.” 

—Jane Mayer, author of Dark Money

“What a revelation! With this moving memoir and history, Norman Eisen enters the front rank of writers.  A truly riveting read.” 

—David Axelrod, author of Believer