A collection of largely political pen portraits of some of the world's major figures in the post World War II era drawn from the author's own experience and recollections of over forty years, many of which were spent in the forefront of Italian political life as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. His travels brought him into contact with a wide range of figures from Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and Charles de Gaulle, to Idi Amin, Fidel Castro and General Peron which allows him to describe the foibles of the political characters he portrays. Andreotti casts light on the Italian view of world politics and the give-and-take of Italian domestic affairs, where proportional representation and short-lived coalition governments are the order of th e day.