Diplomacy Books - Page 4

Statecraft: And How to Restore America's Standing in the World

Dennis Ross

Amazon Price: $10.20 List Price: $15.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $7.20

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> International -> Diplomacy
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> International -> Relations
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Ross on Diplomacy, Negotiation, and Mediation; a Great Read 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 14 people found this review helpful.

Dennis Ross' book on statecraft provides an insightful look into the world of diplomacy and negotiation, which are the two prime ingredients, the author claims, of statecraft. But the book is more than just a theoretical discussion: Ross combines his considerable real-world experience gained through his tenure in multiple administrations to move the discourse into the hard realities of the world as it actually exists, not just paper abstracts. And therein perhaps lays the greatest strength of this book. Yes, the book is a polemic of sorts, but there are probably not too many who would argue with the central premise of this book, that the U.S. has lost standing in the world, finds itself in a series of extremely difficult situations (perhaps mostly of our own making), and is now faced with a new structure of emerging and re-aligned world powers that require meaningful engagement if we are to restore the country to its former standing.

Not all will agree with Ross' political discourse in this book. Nevertheless, that should be no reason to either overlook the treasure trove of experiences which he brings to the table, nor neglect the impressive insight he shares on both past and present political dilemmas. There are commonalities he feels apply to all these situations (we are given twelve rules of negotiation, and eleven rules of mediation, for example), but there is great value in working through the individual, unique examples he provides as historical case studies in which statecraft was both successfully and unsuccessfully practiced. There can be little doubt that any person (or administration) wishing to improve its own negotiating and mediating prowess could learn from this series of important discourses.

One "extra" found in this book is the highly detailed and insider's view of the statecraft carried on by the Bush 41 administration in helping garner worldwide support to respond to the invasion of Kuwait. Ross is able to lay out in narrative detail the diplomatic steps that were taken both in and out of the public view to help build consensus, and ever better, a careful and meaningful comparison to the LACK of statecraft efforts by the current administration in building such a consensus. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the current administration's policies, we can almost cringe when we see the difference between how the father and the son handled these events. Ross lays it out in a manner that is virtually impossible to ignore.

Ross' book has one unintended outcome in my own mind. In spite of the fact that Ross actually addresses this particular item at various points in the book, the text lays out enough detail on some of today's most pressing world issues to the point to where they appear so difficult, so complicated, and so divergent that solutions simply appear to be out of reach. Of course, sometimes these situations contain a "Gordian Knot" that, once found, can be a key to unlocking seeming intractable problems. But work through some of Ross' examples and see if you agree. It's more of a commentary on the present set of problems in which the world finds itself than on any perceived shortcoming of Ross' skills as a negotiation expert, and the book indeed recommends a number of approaches that might be quite worthy of implementation. But there is a feeling of frustration lurking around the corners and between the lines in this book for any reader who possesses more than a passing familiarity with today's outstanding issues.

Regardless, this is an outstanding treatise on negotiation and mediation, and the author's suggestions probably have application in many areas of life, not just in intra-governmental settings. A great read that is an important addition to the discourse - or perhaps, to get the discourse started. Plan to spend a few days or perhaps a week on the text to get it down and be able to think carefully about it as you go.

Editorial Review:

In this wise and thought-provoking book, the renowned peace negotiator Dennis Ross shows that America’s current foreign policy problems stem from the Bush administration’s inability to use the tools of statecraft to advance our national interests. Ross explains that in the globalized world—with its fluid borders, terrorist networks, and violent unrest—statecraft is more necessary than ever. In vivid chapters, he outlines how statecraft helped shape a new world order after 1989. He shows how the failure of statecraft in Iraq and throughout the Middle East has undercut the United States and makes clear that only statecraft can check the rise of China and the danger of a nuclear Iran. He draws on his expertise to reveal the art of successful negotiation. And he shows how the next president could resolve today’s problems and define a realistic, ambitious foreign policy. Statecraft is “an essential book for our time” (Walter Isaacson).

Realities of Foreign Service Life, Volume 2

Patricia Linderman, Melissa Brayer Hess, Marlene Monfiletto Nice

Amazon Price: $18.85 List Price: $20.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: iUniverse, Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 20 new & used starting at $13.16

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Leaders & Notable People -> Political
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Specific Groups -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Specific Groups -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this second volume of AAFSW's Realities of Foreign Life, 29 members of the U.S. diplomatic community - including employees, spouses and one articulate teen - share their knowledge, research and personal perspectives, broadening and extending the first book's candid insights into the Foreign Service lifestyle. Focusing on the "realities" faced by diplomats and their families outside the embassy or consulate walls, the authors explore topics such as schooling and housing abroad, intercultural marriage, medical evacuations, employment for accompanying partners, and the growing number of unaccompanied assignments. - If you are already a member of the Foreign Service community (and especially if you have recently joined), this book will provide useful and practical information for the fascinating but often challenging journey ahead. - If you (or your partner) are thinking about entering the Foreign Service, this book joins the first volume in serving as a "reality check," offering a clear view of both the positive and negative aspects of Foreign Service life, for partners and children as well as employees. - If you are a student contemplating a career in diplomacy, a friend or relative of a Foreign Service member - or if you are simply curious about the lives of U.S. diplomats and their families overseas - this book will give you an insider's perspective found nowhere else.

The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11

Dinesh D'Souza

Amazon Price: $58.39 List Price: $79.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Tantor Media Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $45.20

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> 21st Century
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Current Events -> Terrorism
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> International -> Diplomacy

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 133 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Left decadence is what drives Muslims nuts, and shouldn't conservatives agree? 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

A thought provoking book, less inflammatory than its cover might suggest. D'Souza, who has become a serious politics-and-religion intellectual, makes a case that many conservatives will find surprising but that bears consideration: that radical Muslims hate primarily, not Christianity or American democracy, but the decadence spread around the world by America's cultural left - pornography, homosexuality, abortion, atheism, feminism and sex-obsessed pop culture.

Muslims, says D'Souza, see this being forced upon their traditional, non-Western societies where the vast majority of people regard it as harmful, weakening the family - in any poor society an individual's greatest bulwark. Radical Muslims are joined in this, he argues, by traditional Muslims, who differ with the radicals not in their religious purity, but in whether violence is a legitimate means to their end.

Meanwhile, he said, radical Muslims such as Bin Laden have formed a tacit, unlikely alliance with the American left, both seeking Bush's defeat as their primary goal. Bush, meanwhile, has taken the wrong tack in the war, says D'Souza, representing it as the promotion of liberal values in the Middle East. This further alienates vast portions of the societies he seeks to win over. D'Souza finds it ironic that Bush and American conservatives are willing to fight to combat illiberalism in the Middle East, while liberals themselves are not.

To win the war on terror, he says, religious conservatives ought to ally themselves with traditional Muslims, making it clear that they, too, deplore the decadence spread by American pop culture and left-wing advocacy groups. This would help us regain credibility, he says, with religious and traditional people throughout the world who don't want American freedom that translates largely to license.

This, to some extent, has already happened - D'Souza copyright this book in 2007 and I'm guessing he wrote most of it before the 2006 Congressional elections - because the surge's success has been built largely on just such a strategy: allying with the traditional religious and clan leaders in Iraq, and thus splitting them away from the radicals.

D'Souza's account of how, say, his mother - an Indian Christian living in Mumbai - despises the American popular culture she sees on television, will be familiar and believable to many with relatives outside the West. He is at his best citing numerous Muslim sources to prove his point.

Editorial Review:

One of the most original and controversial writers on politics and society in the country today uncovers the links between the spread of American pop culture, leftist ideas, secular values, and the rise of anti-Americanism throughout the world. Unabridged. 10 CDs.

Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World

Robert Thurman

Amazon Price: $16.32 List Price: $24.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Atria Books/Beyond Words Amazon Marketplace: 59 new & used starting at $9.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Psychology & Counseling -> Social Psychology & Interactions
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> International -> Diplomacy
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Discrimination & Racism

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is an extraordinary example of a life dedicated to peace, communication, and unity. What he represents, and what he has accomplished, heals and transcends the current tensions between Tibet and China. Why the Dalai Lama Matters explores just why he has earned the world's love and respect, and how restoring Tibet's autonomy within China is not only possible, but highly reasonable, and absolutely necessary for all of us together to have a peaceful future as a global community.

In the few decades since the illegal Chinese invasion of Tibet, Tibetans have seen their ecosystem destroyed, their religion, language, and culture repressed, and systematic oppression and violence against anyone who dares acknowledge Tibetan sovereignty. Yet, above it all, the Dalai Lama has been a consistent voice for peace, sharing a "Middle-Way" approach that has gathered accolades from the Nobel Peace Prize to the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal.

Modeling this peaceful resistance shows the world that nobody is free unless everybody is free -- and that a solution exists that can benefi t all parties, not just one. And more than just his nation have taken notice. His inter-religious dialogues, honest, humble demeanor, and sense of compassionate justice sets him apart in a world at war with itself. When China changes policy and lets Tibetans be who they are, Tibet can, in turn, join with China in peaceful coexistence.

Why the Dalai Lama Matters is not merely a book about Tibet or the Dalai Lama. It is a revealing, provocative solution for a world in confl ict, dealing with the very fundamentals of human rights and freedoms. By showing the work that the Dalai Lama has done on behalf of his people, Thurman illuminates a worldwide call to action, showing that power gained by might means nothing in the face of a determined act of truth.

Realities of Foreign Service Life

Patricia Linderman, Melissa Brayer-Hess

Amazon Price: $18.85 List Price: $20.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Writers Club Press Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $13.15

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Leaders & Notable People -> Political
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Specific Groups -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Specific Groups -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Mention a diplomatic career and most people imagine high-level meetings, formal dress and cocktail parties. Few stop to think that behind the occasional glitter of official functions are thousands of families facing all the routines and crises of life—births, deaths, childrearing, divorce—far from home, relatives, and friends, in an unfamiliar and sometimes unfriendly country and culture. This book provides reflections and perspectives on the realities of Foreign Service life as experienced by members of the Foreign Service community around the world. The writers share their unvarnished views on a wide variety of topics they care about: maintaining long-distance relationships, raising teens abroad, dealing with depression, coping with evacuations, readjusting to life in the United States, and many others. These are stories from the diplomatic trenches—true experiences from those who have lived the lifestyle and want to share their hard-learned lessons with others.

•If you are new to the Foreign Service, this book will offer insights and practical information useful in your overseas tours and when you return home. Even if you are a seasoned veteran of the Foreign Service, the reports and reflections of others may encourage you to compare and evaluate your own experiences.
• If you (or your partner) are contemplating joining the Foreign Service, this book can serve as a reality check, giving you honest, personal perspectives on both the positive and negative aspects of Foreign Service life.
• If you are a student wondering what the Foreign Service is all about, this book will broaden your knowledge and provide you with an insider’s view not found in any textbook.

Beyond Terror and Martyrdom: The Future of the Middle East

Gilles Kepel

Amazon Price: $18.45 List Price: $27.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Belknap Press Amazon Marketplace: 19 new & used starting at $16.90

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Military -> General
Subjects -> History -> Military -> General AAS
Subjects -> History -> World -> Islamic

Editorial Review:

Since 2001, two dominant worldviews have clashed in the global arena: a neoconservative nightmare of an insidious Islamic terrorist threat to civilized life, and a jihadist myth of martyrdom through the slaughter of infidels. Across the airwaves and on the ground, an ill-defined and uncontrollable war has raged between these two opposing scenarios. Deadly images and threats—from the televised beheading of Western hostages to graphic pictures of torture at Abu Ghraib, from the destruction wrought by suicide bombers in London and Madrid to civilian deaths at the hands of American occupation forces in Iraq—have polarized populations on both sides of this divide.

Yet, as the noted Middle East scholar and commentator Gilles Kepel demonstrates, President Bush’s War on Terror masks a complex political agenda in the Middle East—enforcing democracy, accessing Iraqi oil, securing Israel, and seeking regime change in Iran. Osama bin Laden’s call for martyrs to rise up against the apostate and hasten the dawn of a universal Islamic state papers over a fractured, fragmented Islamic world that is waging war against itself.

Beyond Terror and Martyrdom sounds the alarm to the West and to Islam that both of these exhausted narratives are bankrupt—neither productive of democratic change in the Middle East nor of unity in Islam. Kepel urges us to escape the ideological quagmire of terrorism and martyrdom and explore the terms of a new and constructive dialogue between Islam and the West, one for which Europe, with its expanding and restless Muslim populations, may be the proving ground.

(20080922)

Shut Up, I'm Talking: And Other Diplomacy Lessons I Learned in the Israeli Government--A Memoir

Gregory Levey

Amazon Price: $16.32 List Price: $24.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Free Press Amazon Marketplace: 57 new & used starting at $4.59

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Ethnic & National -> Jewish
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Regional Canada -> Ontario

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Shut Up, I'm Talking is a smart, hilarious insider take on Israeli politics that reads like the bastard child of Thomas Friedman and David Sedaris. Now a political writer for Salon, Gregory Levey stumbled into a job as speechwriter for the Israeli delegation to the United Nations at age twenty-five and suddenly found himself, like a latter-day Zelig, in the company of foreign ministers, U.S. senators, and heads of state. Much to his surprise, he was soon attending U.N. sessions and drafting official government statements. The situation got stranger still when he was transferred to Jerusalem to write speeches for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Shut Up, I'm Talking is a startling account of Levey's journey into the nerve center of Middle Eastern politics at one of the most turbulent times in Israeli history. During his three years in the Israeli government, the Second Intifada continued on in fits and starts, Yasser Arafat died, Hamas came to power, and Ariel Sharon fell into a coma. Levey was repeatedly thrust into highly improbable situations -- from being the sole "Israeli" delegate (even though he's Canadian) at the U.N. General Assembly, with no idea how "his" country wanted to vote; to nearly inciting an international incident with his high school French translation of an Arab diplomat's anti-Israel remarks; to communicating with Israeli intelligence about the suspected perpetrators of suicide bombings; to being offered leftover salami from Ariel Sharon's lunch. As Levey got better acquainted with the personalities in the government's inner sanctum, he witnessed firsthand the improvisational and ridiculously casual nature of the country's behind-the-scenes leadership -- and realized that he wasn't the only one faking his way through politics.

With sharp insight and great appreciation for the absurd, Levey offers the first-ever look inside Israel's politics from the perspective of a complete outsider, ultimately concluding that the Israeli government is no place for a nice Jewish boy.

Inside the Jihad: My Life with Al Qaeda, a Spy's Story

Omar Nasiri

Amazon Price: $30.39 List Price: $39.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Tantor Media Amazon Marketplace: 30 new & used starting at $20.58

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Interesting, questionable 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Interesting story, but self-serving when describing his motivations and insights. In truth he sounds like a sociopath who conned everyone he dealt with, for his own ends. Said he didn't write under his real name because he wouldn't be safe, but gave details, if true, that would make it clear who he was, e.g., he lived at one point in his home with his brother where an international jihad newsletter was published & mailed. Some things not plausible, e.g., that he told his co-terrorists that he was an agent for an anti-terrorist government agency, but they had no reaction. So there is a question as to how much of his story is fiction. But it's still an interesting story.

Editorial Review:

The story of a double agent operative working for UK and French intelligence in infiltrating Al Qaeda training camps. From Europe's burgeoning terrorist underground in the 1990s, to the training camps of Afghanistan, to the radical mosques of London, Omar Nasiri offers a unique and chilling perspective, on both the rise of AI Qaeda, and the intelligence services that struggled to contain it.

The Golden Bones: An Extraordinary Journey from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in America

Sichan Siv

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Not yet published By: Harper Perennial

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Leaders & Notable People -> Political
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

While the United States battled the Communists of North Vietnam in the 1960s and '70s, the neighbouring country of Cambodia was attacked from within by dictator Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge imprisoned, enslaved, and murdered the educated and intellectual members of the population, resulting in the harrowing "killing fields"–rice paddies where the harvest yielded nothing but millions of skulls.

Young Sichan Siv–a target since he was a university graduate–was told by his mother to run and "never give up hope!" Captured and put to work in a slave labor camp, Siv knew it was only a matter of time before he would be worked to death–or killed. With a daring escape from a logging truck and a desperate run for freedom through the jungle, including falling into a dreaded pungi pit, Siv finally came upon a colorfully dressed farmer who said, "Welcome to Thailand."

He spent months teaching English in a refugee camp in Thailand while regaining his strength, eventually Siv was allowed entry into the United States. Upon his arrival in the U.S., Siv kept striving. Eventually rising to become a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Siv returned with great trepidation to the killing fields of Cambodia in 1992 as a senior representative of the U.S. government. It was an emotionally overwhelming visit.

Why Nations Go to War

John G. Stoessinger

Amazon Price: $57.95 List Price: $57.95 In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. By: Wadsworth Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $0.63

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Military -> Weapons & Warfare -> Control
Subjects -> History -> World -> 20th Century
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Poetry -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good overview of wars. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

As someone who has taken only survey classes in history, this book was great for specifics in 20th century conflicts. The chapter on Yugoslavia was excellent and helped me write a great essay. I will always remember what the author said about evil being fascinating because it is hard to understand. There are also chapters about WW1, WW2, Iraq. Easy to read and very fun.

Good read 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I don't normally read non fiction but this book is excellent- giving a different view of history and war.

Pleased 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The book was in perfect condition. Came to my house quickly. Def. worth it...It was about 15 dollars cheaper than at my college bookstore!
So, Thanks!

Clearly biased representation of presidents 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The premise and structure of the book are excellent and I commend the writer for putting together such a comprehensive work. However, I find the author's bias against, and for certain leaders to be highly questionable. It's clear to me that the author's personal opinions precluded him from putting together an objective view of the past.

For instance, the author lambasted Lyndon B. Johnson for his handling of Vietnam but he was extremely apologetic when writing about JFK's involvment in escalating said war. He even went so far as to offer his own excuse for why JFK decided to authorize the use of napalm and defoliating agents. He suggested contextually that JFK was somehow forced into his decisions by his advisors -- as though he couldn't think for himself, or is somehow immune from criticism regarding Vietnam.

Again, after writing about the Korean War, the author slams President George W. Bush for his "axis of evil" speech but then credits former (failed) president Jimmy Carter for being some kind of god-like peacemaker there in 1994. It's completely absurd and disregards many of the problems that continued in North Korea between 1994 and 2001. He acts as though N.Korea was all fine and wonderful until President Bush came along....what a joke. His glaring bias seeps off the pages and discredits his entire work -- which again, is unfortunate because I enjoyed most of the book.

I will say that I think his handling of President Clinton's administration was much more balanced. But again, this only serves to highlight his other more slanted views.

Editorial Review:

What is the role of the personalities of leaders who take their nations or their following across the threshold into war? WHY NATIONS GO TO WAR i is built around 10 case studies culminating in the two new wars that ushered in the twenty-first century, Afghanistan and Iraq.