“Sam Patten is an American original, and the tales he tells in this superb memoir reflect our country at its best: adventurous, idealistic, results-oriented, and altruistic. He is also naive at times and excessively hopeful at others. As the reader follows Sam’s travels and travails across the globe, what comes across most of all is a belief in the possibility of progress and the ability of individuals to help make it. Sam is transparent about his pitfalls, with a candor that used to be part of the classic American persona but increasingly seems like a quaint relic in our polarized, rhetoric-filled society. I was left with hope and a belief that Americans still can make a difference in the world, even after all the mistakes we have made over the decades.”—ERIC RUBIN, former US ambassador to Bulgaria

“Sam Patten plays both devil and saint: an American who dared to get his hands dirty in the realities of the world, so very distant from the sterilities of the screen. And he writes well about it.”—DUDLEY FISHBURN, former member of Parliament under Margaret Thatcher

“Dangerous Company is a fascinating tale of sex, romance, power, and brilliant success (the purple finger in the air) to sordid associations with the bad boys of American politics, followed by Patten lying in a pool of his own blood, wondering if some aggrieved potentate had ordered a hit. Across five continents Patten was not just 'present at the creation' but its midwife. It’s a memoir that reads like a Ken Follett novel and a must-read for deep staters and denizens of the vast world beyond the Beltway alike!”—CHRISTOPHER BURNHAM, former assistant secretary for the US Department of State and under-secretary-general of the United Nations

“Long ago I told Sam he needed to write a book, and oh Lord, did he ever! His riveting behind-the-scenes tales of diplomacy and intrigue—how the sausage is made, where the bodies are buried, and a how-to (and occasionally how-not-to) survive and thrive in the heady world of high-stakes power battles in foreign capitals around the globe is on full display. Here Sam’s life well lived explodes on the page in full color and makes for a fascinating read.”—MARK PFEIFLE, former US deputy national security advisor for communications

“I strapped in and let Sam Patten take me on a swashbuckling, hair-raising, danger- and escapade-filled adventure through Russia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Mexico. Did it seem crazy when we got to Congo? Yes, it did. But such is the invisible underworld of expert hired guns paid to bring American-style politics to places probably not ready for it. Given the journey, it is no surprise when Patten ultimately ends up in Ukraine and the maw of Donald Trump’s Russiagate, at the wrong end of the spear of Robert Mueller’s investigation. Read this book.”—STEVE LEVINE, author of Putin’s Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia

“Sam Patten set out to see the world and have an impact. He saw the world, traveling from one hot spot to the next, and he had an effect—but not always the one he planned for. In Russia, he worked on democracy promotion and was a close friend of the assassinated opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov. It was at home that he made a mistake that almost landed him behind bars. In this absorbing and honest memoir, he tells a story of political intrigue at the highest levels and the price he paid when success was at hand, but judgment failed him.”—DAVID SATTER, Russian scholar and author of The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep: Russia’s Road to Terror and Dictatorship under Yeltsin and Putin