NEW YORK – A lead U.S. negotiator for the release of hundreds of people captured by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel will have a book out this fall.
The Penguin Random House imprint Crown has scheduled Brett McGurk’s “Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7 Hostages” for Oct. 6, nearly three years to the day after the deadly Hamas siege that left more than 1,000 people dead and over 200 taken captive.
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Brett McGurk, who is 53 years old, has worked as a diplomat and advisor on Middle Eastern affairs for many years. He has served under three different U.S. presidents. In 2023, President Joe Biden appointed him to lead the negotiations for the release of hostages held by Hamas. In his upcoming book, McGurk will share his experiences and the challenges he faced while trying to balance the complex demands of both Israel and Hamas as he traveled around the world in pursuit of a resolution.
“On October 7, Hamas unleashed a devastating war and the largest hostage crisis in modern history,” McGurk stated in a press release from Crown. “I wrote ‘Brink’ to bring readers inside the rooms as events unfolded in real time — from the Situation Room with hundreds of missiles in the air, to compounds across the Middle East where diplomacy teetered between breakthrough and collapse.”
In “Brink,” McGurk will also reveal details about a near-agreement that was in the works before the October 7 attacks, which aimed to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. He will reflect on his partnership with Steve Witkoff, a Trump appointee, as they navigated negotiations during the transition between the Biden and Trump administrations. The remaining hostages were eventually freed in October 2025.
As stated in the publisher’s announcement, “’Brink’ details the bipartisan front they forged when it mattered most, ultimately securing a deal that would save lives.” This book not only provides a first-hand account of a significant moment in recent history but also highlights the importance of diplomacy and collaboration in times of crisis.
