On My Watch

From the former secretary general of NATO, an honest and candid account of a dramatic decade as the leader of the world’s most important military alliance.

From On My Watch:

One day in mid-October, a NATO intelligence officer requested a confidential conversation. He came into my office, and after ensuring all phones were out of the room as usual, we sat down at the meeting table. The intelligence officer then showed me a map of the Russian forces.

“As you know, Secretary General,” he said, “we’ve maintained a precise overview of the Russian military buildup, but we’ve so far been unable to say anything certain about the intention behind it.”

He took a brief pause, lifted his eyes from his notes, and looked at me, his expression serious.

“Today, however, we know what the intention is. It’s to invade Ukraine.”

When Jens Stoltenberg took office as secretary general of NATO in 2014, the world was already changing. What followed was a decade marked by war, diplomatic crises, and decisions that helped shape the West’s shared security. On My Watch takes readers behind closed doors and offers rare insight into how the world’s most powerful military alliance handles crises. Stoltenberg describes the effort to keep NATO united and addresses key issues, such as the war in Ukraine, NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, relations with Russia and China, and cooperation with world leaders including Angela Merkel, Donald Trump, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This is not a book about division. It is a story of unity, of friendship—and of why NATO still matters. Through his reflections on disagreements and dilemmas, he offers a unique view into the art of diplomacy and the hard choices that must be made when global peace is at stake. He ultimately shows why openness is essential to preserve cohesion—and to face the challenges of tomorrow.