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AMERICAN DIPLOMATS: The Foreign Service at Work Paperback – October 10, 2004

by Stuart Kennedy (Author)

4.7 20 ratings

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What do the men and women of America's diplomatic corps do? William D. Morgan and Charles Stuart Kennedy, themselves career diplomats, culled over 1400 oral interviews with their Foreign Service peers to present forty excerpts covering events from the 1920s to the 1990s. Insiders recount what happens when a consul spies on Nazi Germany, Mao Tse-Tung drops by for a chat, the Cold War begins with the Berlin blockade, the Marshall Plan rescues Europe, Sukarno moves Indonesia into the communist camp, Khrushchev calls President Kennedy an SOB, and our ambassador is murdered in Kabul."You are there" accounts deepen readers' understanding, as diplomatic and consular officers talk about the beginnings of Kremlinology, predicting a coup in Ecuador, Hemingway and the embassy in Havana, the secret formulation of the NATO treaty, Jerusalem after the British and the US recognition of Israel, fighting in the Congo over Katangan secession, dealing with an alcoholic foreign president, human rights work in Paraguay, the U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran, the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, helping families of the Pan Am 103 victims, Greece and Turkey at odds over a tiny island, embassy roles in Riyadh and Tel Aviv during Desert Storm, and many more.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

iUniverse
Publication date

October 10, 2004
Dimensions

6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0595329748
ISBN-13

978-0595329748
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ iUniverse; 0 edition (October 10, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0595329748
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0595329748
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #822,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #174 in Arms Control (Books)
- #1,148 in United States National Government
- #4,626 in Political Science (Books)

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W. P. Wallace

Found my father

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2017

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Reading a few pages about my father Bill Wallace only confirmed my research into his life. Thank you.

One person found this helpful

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Salvador Hernandez

Excellent first hand accounts of diplomatic work by Foreign Service Officers

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2009

I am currently going through the hiring process for the Foreign Service and purchased this book to gain an understanding of what types of responsibilities American diplomats take on abroad and at home.

American Diplomats provides first hand accounts of economic, political, managerial and diplomatic functions carried out by many Foreign Service Officers over the span of a hundred years. The accounts are professionally written but at the same time seem to provide very frank opinions - and even grievances - surrounding the challenges that diplomats face. Some examples include: meeting with the King of Saudi Arabia, challenges in maintaining the safety of staff in war torn Colombia, negotiating in a UN setting, getting held hostage in Iran after the revolution and trying to keep Israel from attacking Iraq during the first gulf war.

I very much enjoyed reading the narratives. One drawback to this book (when compared to others) is that most of the contributors were higher level / senior foreign service officers and the experiences they described were most likely not representative of the work and life of the average FSO. That's alright; there are several other books on Amazon that effectively depict the average FSO life. "Living with Uncle Sam," "Bush Hat Black Tie," "Realities of Foreign Service," "Inside A US Embassy" are all good books as well.

18 people found this helpful

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M and G

History through the Eyes of Embassy Employees: A Little Dry and Outdated, But with Some Real Gems

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2022

Verified Purchase

*Brief Synopsis: This book consists of first-person narratives of Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) who were in the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time to participate in key moments in the unfolding of U.S. foreign policy around the world. It details the experiences of the Ambassadors leading the U.S. embassies during the Iran hostage crisis and the Lebanon bombing, the duty officer who was present when the U.S. Embassy in Saigon was attacked by the Viet Cong, the translator of the infamous "second letter" sent to JFK during the Cuban missile crisis, and more.

*Favorite Vignettes:
-Probably my favorite standalone example of professional work on-the-ground was when, immediately after the bombing of U.S. Embassy Lebanon, the Public Affairs Officer handed the dust-and-blood-coated Ambassador a page of talking points and directed him to immediately address the gathered press. It's such an amazing moment of coolheaded, professional excellence.
-I am so struck by the moment when the FSO addresses the Soviet General about Khrushchev's "second letter" and, upon hearing confirmation that the Americans in fact received the letter and failed to act on it, the General responds, "Now I can believe in God."
-I love the wily high-level negotiation tactics shared by the Director of Investment Affairs, in which (required to jump into the negotiating table with only an hour's notice) she handily convinced her fellow negotiators of her expertise by focusing on the people at the table rather than the issues themselves. It's some brilliant gamesmanship!
-The same goes for the drafters of the original NATO treaty--the glimpse into the closed-door conversations in which they all good-naturedly followed an agreement to "seek to get their governments' orders changed" was awesome!
-I was also struck by the description, in the wake of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, of how consular officers' work doesn't really have any clear limits or boundaries. Whereas some officials (IRS, Social Security, etc.) can clearly describe what they are and aren't responsible for, consular officers working with American citizens overseas have to be much more flexible and prepared to deal with a huge range of issues and requests.
-I was also fascinated by the experiences of the FSOs posted to both the USSR and the PRC when they fully fell into the throes of communist leadership, describing among other things their heavily-proscribed freedom of movement.

*Overall Thoughts: The bottom line after my re-read is that the book offers some really interesting first-person insights into the unfolding history of the world since WWII and encourages some respect for the unique challenges FSOs face as part of their professional responsibilities. It's increasingly out-of-date, however (the most recent referenced event is the second Iraq War of 2003) and some of the stories tend to be a bit long, detail-oriented, and occasionally self-serving. I would thus recommend it to those who are interested enough in the history of the State Department to be willing to pick through a good amount of dry material to find a few gems.

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Rachel

Everyone should read this!

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2014

Wonderful stories that truly show the depth and scope of everyday life for FSOs. Highlights what big and little things are done and everybody, regardless of career, should read this!

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2014

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