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The Ugly American (Paperback)

~ Eugene Burdick (Author), (Author) "The Honorable Louis Sears, American Ambassador to Sarkhan, was angry..." (more)
Key Phrases: rocket truck, United States, Senator Brown, Ambassador Sears (more...)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
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Customers buy this book with The Quiet American (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Graham Greene

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  • This item: The Ugly American by William J. Lederer

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Not only important but consistently entertaining. . . . The attack on American policy in Asia this book makes is clothed in sharp characterizations, frequently humorous incident, and perceptive descriptions of the countries and people where the action occurs. -- Robert Trumbull, former chief correspondent for the New York Times in China and Southeast Asia

Powerful and absorbing. . . . Should be required reading in Washington. -- Kirkus Reviews

Seldom has a deadly warning been more entertainingly or convincingly given. -- Washington Star


Review

"Devastating."

The New York

Times

"A Powerful, Searching Book."

The Los Angeles Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.; Reissue edition (January 1, 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0393318672
  • ISBN-13: 978-0393318678
  • Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #44,986 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

William J. Lederer
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The Honorable Louis Sears, American Ambassador to Sarkhan, was angry. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
rocket truck
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Senator Brown, Ambassador Sears, Prime Minister, Father Finian, Colonel Hillandale, Captain Boning, Major Cravath, Joe Bing, State Department, Dien Bien Phu, George Swift, Doctor Tsung, Air Force, Prince Moyang, Southeast Asia, American Embassy, Prince Ngong, Don Phillippe, Eastern Star, Louis Sears, Major Monet, Phnom Penh, Senator Corona, Emma Atkins
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Customer Reviews

45 Reviews
5 star:
 (31)
4 star:
 (13)
3 star:
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2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (45 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, timely, and scathing critique, December 17, 2003
The Ugly American succeeds on three major counts:
1) The book is a devastating look at the way the American diplomatic corps presents itself abroad. It may have been written decades ago, but given recent events and little evidence that anything has changed in the State Department, the lessons are still extremely applicable to this day. Every foreign service officer should read this as a manual on how to conduct themselves and adapt to foreign cultures.
2) The authors are clearly cutting into American policy without going overboard and cutting into the United States. This is no anti-American rant; Lederer and Burdick seem to write this book with one eye firmly on furthering America's ability to advance its interests and cooperate more effectively with other nations.
3) Each one of the short stories is extremely entertaining. I started this book at 10 pm one night and finished it three hours later after being totally unable to put it down. On top of its commentary, it's a quick and fascinating read.
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read - almost impossible to forget., July 12, 2000
By "johninjapan" (Tokyo Japan) - See all my reviews
The Ugly American is a collection of about 20 fictional short stories based in Asia after World War II, when communism was a gaining momentum in the region. The stories, however, are based on factual experiences of the authors in South East-Asia and some of the characters are also based on real people.

Each tale is an enchanting story. The characterization is wonderful and the lessons of cultural sensitivity - or lack of it - are valuable. You could also use parts of the book as anecdotes for teaching leadership, but it is not a textbook; read it to enjoy it and you can have the "food for thought" as a bonus. Americans should not be put off by the title as the main character is far from ugly and people from other nations are also shown to be "ugly", for example, some of the French in Vietnam. Also, as the authors are American, they did not intend the title to be a slur.

Trivia FYI: Universal made a movie from the book, staring Marlon Brando, in the 1960s.

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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Getting it right!, March 30, 2003
By Jim Bernhardt (Arlington, VA United States) - See all my reviews
The Ugly American was published in 1958, just after the Soviets put Sputnik in orbit and sent America into a deep funk. The book is as interesting for its idealized picture of communist accomplishments in foreign relations as it is for the dreary picture of Americans abroad. The authors attribute high quality training and patient well thought out policies to the Soviets. The American don't speak the language. The Americans don't understand the culture. The Americans are incapable of winning hearts or helping people. That was the mood in 1958. The Soviets had won the race to space and caused us as a nation to doubt our system of education, our ability to understand the world, and our instruments of diplomacy. The people working for the State Department in this book spend most of their time taking care of themselves (first class all the way), and the rest taking care of visitors from Washington (BS all the way). Now, in the post 9/11 world, the Ugly American is worth a fresh look. Are we going to do as poor a job in the Arab world as we did in Southeast Asia nearly 50 years ago. Do we speak Arabic? Are we spending the time and effort learning about the culture, needs and dreams of the people in that part of the world. Is there a hope we can get it right this time? The Ugly American is an important book for us now.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons for all Americans
Customer Video Review

Length:: 2:24 Mins
Published 11 hours ago by Steven D. Ward

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought Provoking
The book is well written and entertaining while allowing the reader to experience on many levels some of the bright and dark spots of historical American foreign policy.
Published 4 months ago by Jeff Sanders

5.0 out of 5 stars If you think THE Ugly American is bad, you'd be surprised... read the book!
I first encountered this book as part of an undergraduate political science class on American politics. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Grognard

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Thumbs way up!
This book here is required reading for all United States Marines serving in diplomatic assignments overseas and I must say it was fantastic. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Y. Chow

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining but not enough depth
I certainly enjoyed reading this book -it was well written -but have more reservations about it that many of the other reviewers. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Nigel Pickard

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't believe every American hasn't read this!
The term "ugly American" gets thrown around a lot, but most people have never read the book. What surprises me is that, with our problems in Iraq and the rest of the world, every... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Thomas D. Darling

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Review - THE UGLY AMERICAN by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick
I've had this book lying around for a long time, but I never read it until it was assigned in my International Mass Communication class, even though it's been a classic for fifty... Read more
Published on September 25, 2007 by Gandhi the Vile

5.0 out of 5 stars Not much has changed since 1958
First read "The Ugly American" in 1958. Just finished the 1999 reprint and found it to be just as revelent today as it was nearly 50 years ago. Read more
Published on September 23, 2007 by Jerry R. Mcgraw

5.0 out of 5 stars It rings true
This is a novel, but only quasi-fictional. Written in 1958, the story involves the behaviors of our U.S. foreign service diplomats in Southeast Asia. Read more
Published on July 21, 2007 by C. J. Leach

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good story and a quick read.
This is a popular book among US military members and I was very impressed with the story and the message.
Published on September 27, 2006 by T. Vedder

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