Weapons of Mass Diplomacy: By Abel Lanzac and Christophe Blain - Tapa dura

"The machinations at the ministry gave him the material for 'Quai d'Orsay, ' a bande dessin e that he wrote under the pen name Abel Lanzac, with illustrations by Christophe Blain. . . . The book was recently brought out in English by the British publisher SelfMadeHero under the title 'Weapons of Mass Diplomacy.'"--The New York Times "Were I in the front row of the White House press briefing room, I would ask spokesman Jay Carney one question above all others: 'Have you read Weapons of Mass Diplomacy, and if not, why not?' It's that good--insightful, like a tall mirror reflecting truth, hung in the halls of power."--The Washington Post

Paris, 2002. Arthur Vlaminck, a young civil servant, lands an impressive first job as the speechwriter for Alexandre Taillard de Vorms, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Quai d'Orsay. Vorms is no simple man. A refined and driven intellectual, he loves Napoleon, frequently quotes classical poetry and philosophy - and if he bears more than a passing resemblance to the real Foreign Minister at the time, Dominique de Villepin . . . well, the authors couldn't possibly comment. As the imposing doors of politics and diplomacy swing open, Vlaminck is thrown into a world of large egos, high stress, and low cunning - and tasked with drafting France's response to a growing international crisis in the Middle East for de Vorm's mission to the United Nations. Spanning the run-up to an invasion, we see in painful - and often hilarious - detail the inevitable clash between Gallic reluctance and American assurance over the case for Weapons of Mass Destruction - a period that sees French fries become "freedom fries" and a line from The Simpsons about "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" gain international currency. A tale of French diplomacy, Ancient Greek divinities, and the seemingly intractable problems of the Middle East, Weapons of Mass Diplomacy is an internationally bestselling, award-winning graphic novel that provides a profound, informed, and often very funny portrait of how "stuff happens" behind the closed doors of the Quai d'Orsay.