American Ambassadors in a Troubled World: Interviews with Senior Diplomats (Contributions in Political Science) [Hardcover]

Dayton Mak (Author), Charles Stuart Kennedy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313285586 | ISBN-13: 978-0313285585 | Publication Date: August 30, 1992

How do American citizens become ambassadors, and how do they serve as U.S. representatives overseas during such troubled times? What is embassy life really like? How do ambassadors deal with host governments and with officials back in Washington and conduct operations during emergencies and serious crises? Seventy-four senior diplomats give us personal and insider accounts of important experiences. Their comments provide useful insights into the business of diplomacy and will interest students, teachers, practitioners in international affairs, not to mention the general public. Following a brief historical introduction, the interviewees describe their reasons for becoming ambassadors, the appointment process, their training, the management of an embassy, problems in dealing with heads of state and officials at home. They discuss troubles in Korea and Laos, the Six-Day War in 1967, the Jonestown Affair, hostilities in Cyprus, the Fall of Saigon, civil strife in Nicaragua, along with terrorism, coups, and other demonstrations of violence in the 1970s and 1980s. They point to the future role of ambassadors.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“. . . Troubled World is a imaginatively arranged collection of interviews and parts of interviews with more than seventy senior diplomats who served in their country throughout the globe in the modern era.”–Journal of Interdisciplinary History

“. . . a highly readable primer on the ambassadorial role and a book likely to be of particular interest to the past and present members of the Foreign Service--who will find many old friends on its pages.”–Foreign Service Journal

“Mak and Kennedy present an interesting collection of interviews on the nature of diplomatic representation and the issues that diplomats face. . . . Their work is worthwhile reading for anyone interested in American diplomatic missions.”–Harvard International Review

“[This interview record of ex-ambassadors] sheds considerable light on the role of American ambassadors that cannot be found elsewhere.”–John Carroll Professor of History Lamar University

About the Author

DAYTON MAK and CHARLES STUART KENNEDY, former foreign service officers, are in the Foreign Affairs Oral History Program at Georgetown University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (August 30, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313285586
• ISBN-13: 978-0313285585
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,323,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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