American Diplomats: The Foreign Service at Work

by William D. Morgan (Editor)

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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, International Affairs, International Relations, The United States Of America

340 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 7, 2004

Reviews

[Trice · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 1st person accounts by Foreign Service Officers of various stripes serving throughout the world and from the inception of the modern American Foreign Service to the present - fascinating and informative. Most of these appear to be transcriptions of verbal interviews, so the form features some of the repetitions and informal patterns that characterize speech rather than writing - makes it a bit odd for reading at times, but, in picturing it as a conversation, makes it seem more immediate too, as well as making some famous names seem more like real people - still impressive in what they accomplished but less like distant figures. The format, divided into periods, and then into accounts, made it ideal for pick-up/put-down reading mixed with other texts and, in future, for potential diving into some of the details of a particular event or region.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is great first-person, primary source coverage of some of the most interesting world events of the last century. There were situations and conflicts here that were new to me, but the totality filled in a little more of my understanding of history and our world.

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dated, but effectively sheds a light on time periods of Foreign Service work that are usually overshadowed by the all-encompassing present.

"American Diplomats" is a series of short to medium length essays by former Foreign Service officers detailing their experiences in particular times and places: Ecuador during its territory disputes with Peru; Bogotá in the 1920s and 30s; Cyprus in the immediate aftermath of the 1974 Turkish invasion, etc.

The best and most interesting vignettes come from working level officers discussing their various working level experiences. Missives of former ambassadors are fine but ambassadors are the people who write books in retirement; there is no shortage of material on what ambassadors think about foreign affairs. Reading what the working level has to say feels like a rare window into day-to-day, rubber-meets-the-road diplomacy, particularly in the context of bygone eras.

[Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical Turning Points through the Eyes of Embassy Employees Overseas: A Little Dry and Outdated, But with Some Real Gems

I first read this book seven years ago as an intern at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), wide-eyed at the stories I was reading and aching for the chance to join the State Department! I've had my own journeys since then, and wanted to re-read the book to catch another glimpse at the history of the U.S. Foreign Service.

*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 its final word on the PRC is that it could have a "very fruitful relationship" with the U.S.) 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.

[Shy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating first hand accounts of diplomacy at work from the foundation of the foreign service to date. Highly recommend it.

[Ann Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historial perspective on American Foreign Policy and the Foreign Service. Some interesting facts and trivia.