Publications
To the Happy Few
A story of death, love, and loss in the Sudan
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by Hume Horan (Washington, D.C.: Electric City Press, 1996) "It's a rip snorting good story with the vivid raciness of a James Bond adventure, a thought-provoking reminder of Islamic diversity, and a multifaceted portrait of Foreign Service life. I gulped it down and was entertained, informed, and regretful when it was over.
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The plot in brief: Joshua Chamberlain is the newly arrived deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum. Civil war rages between northern Muslim Arabs and southern Christians. Radicals scheme to seize power-menacing Egypt and Saudi Arabia--possibly tilting the strategic balance of the Arab world against the West. Amidst increasing violence, Chamberlain, a former Marine, and Sally Tolson, the ambassador's staff assistant, confront powerful unseen enemies . . . with help from "the White Cowrie" and unexpected friends.
Hume Horan, a former career Foreign Service officer, served as U.S. ambassador to Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea. He has generously donated a supply of his novel to ADST, with all proceeds earmarked for the benefit of ADST's diplomatic book publishing program. "A potent combination of political intrigue and psychological drama [that] raises inevitable comparisons with the master himself, John Le Carre."
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[Hume Horan's story is] full of genuine insights about the Arab world, the U.S. diplomatic corps, and the psychological trials and pleasures of living abroad.
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The writing is classic . . . and the descriptions so skillful that we feel we are there. . . .'Tis a tale told by a master, the truest account I have seen of life in the Foreign Service.
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To the Happy Few captures not only a lot of the Sudan but also of the U.S. presence in the Sudan. . . . The details ring true [and] I found myself laughing aloud at the humor.
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Writing with authority [and] a sure touch, Horan tells not one but two stories: one [of] unbelievable derring-do by Our Hero that we happily accept because it's fun, [the other] a chronicle of Foreign Service life under siege.
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ADST
270 pp
Paperback $16.00
George Vest, former Director General of the Foreign Service:
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Pulitzer Prize-winning author Steven Naifeh:
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