Representing America: Firsthand Accounts from a Century of U.S. Diplomacy 1924–2024 (Arlington Hall Press, Nonfiction)
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The stories you won’t find in history books. History comes alive when told through firsthand accounts—and American diplomats, in their oral histories, tell a host of riveting, unforgettable stories, from the amusing to the tragic to the headline-making.
Representing America, an anthology of more than 300 stories–chosen by retired diplomat Robin Matthewman from the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training’s Foreign Affairs Oral History collection–opens a window into a century of U.S. diplomacy and the history of the places where these diplomats served.
The ADST archive recounts how U.S. diplomats have shaped historic events, served the American people, and faced both sacrifice and danger in the line of duty. These first-hand accounts trace the evolution of the United States’ relations with countries and regions around the globe. They illustrate the profound impact that U.S. international engagement can have. They demonstrate how foreign policy decisions are made and implemented. They talk of peace agreements negotiated or attempted; assistance projects succeeding or failing; governments saved or overthrown; and the value of specific consular, economic, commercial, public diplomacy, political-military and counterterrorism actions.
The archive is a treasure trove of great moments in history for historians, authors, journalists, researchers, genealogists, biographers, foreign policy specialists, and students. For the first time in book form, ADST’s Representing America, provides an engaging and easy to use insight into what a user can find in the larger collection:
- Witness the devastating 1923 earthquake in Japan, the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
- Follow Kissinger’s secret trip to China and Charlie Wilson’s war in Afghanistan.
- Explore the Arab-Israeli peace process and the rise of the Arab Spring.
- Track the hunt for Che Guevara and the Inter-American Democratic Charter signing.
- Experience the birth of India and Pakistan, the end of apartheid, the Nairobi embassy bombing and escape from Rwanda genocide.
- Join Muhammad Ali’s trip to Africa and Anthony Bourdain with President Obama in Hanoi.
The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) produced this anthology as part of an Una Chapman Cox Foundation program to educate the public about American diplomacy and the Foreign Service. ADST’s mission is to capture, preserve, and share the experiences of America’s diplomats to strengthen public appreciation of diplomacy and the professional knowledge of diplomatic practitioners. It curates oral histories of American diplomats and facilitates the publication of books that illuminate diplomacy through firsthand experience and research. Oral historian Robin Matthewman, a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service in the State Department, led the effort.