Most divorces do not end well, and those between countries tend to be the messiest of all. The dissolution of…
The Felix Bloch Affair: An Unsolved Case of Cold War Espionage
In 1989, French counterintelligence agents watched Felix Bloch as he dined in Paris with known Soviet spy “Pierre Bart.” Bloch…
Stephen Thuransky’s 1947 Escape from Hungarian Political Police
Stephen T. Thuransky was arrested for calling the president of Hungary an obscene name. Communist Hungary in 1947 was a…
Presidents, Russians, and Diplomatic Wives: Anecdotes from a Voice of America Newsman
Journalist Euguene F. Karst knew the importance of words. He personally witnessed how communication could highlight the opinions of little…
One City, Two Countries: Manning the Mexican-U.S. Border in Nuevo Laredo
Bustling with commerce, illegal border crossings, and cocaine trafficking, in 2000, Nuevo Laredo was the third busiest visa post in…
Geiger Counters, and a Nanny Who Became a Millionaire—Establishing a USAID Mission in Kazakhstan
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, USAID made Central Asia a top priority—“no matter where you were posted and…
Academic Citations
Scholars around the world use ADST oral histories in books, journal articles, and dissertations. Here is a sampling of works…
George H.W. Bush, American Diplomat
George H.W. Bush was a diplomat before he became the 41st president of the United States. Bush served as U.S.…
Freezing in the Dark: the First Years of the USAID Mission in Ukraine
Using candles for light, huddling into the warmest room, tapping into government telephone lines to make calls—these were the conditions…
A Foe in Need: Famine in North Korea
A disastrous famine struck the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1997. Dubbed “The March of Suffering” by the North…