The presidential election of November 7, 2000 was one of the most memorable – and controversial – in the history…
When the Life of the Party Became Ambassador to France
An effective diplomat, dazzling socialite, and the mother of Winston Churchill’s grandson, Pamela Digby Churchill Hayward Harriman won the respect…
The Sudden Rise of Muammar Qaddafi and a Hostile Libya
On September 1st, 1969, a group of young Libyan military officers overthrew the Libyan royal family and established the Libyan…
The Rise to Power of the Butcher of Uganda
Idi Amin Dada, who came to be known as the “Butcher of Uganda,” rose to officer rank in the Ugandan…
Resolving the Czechoslovak Gold Dispute
As the Third Reich annexed the Sudetenland and Poland and the German war machine pushed through the Eastern Front towards…
Observing the Fiftieth Anniversary of VJ-Day in Japan
How to commemorate an important anniversary of the country in which you’re posted when it marks a low point in…
The U.S. Returns Okinawa to Japan, 1971
In 1945, towards the end of World War II, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps invaded Okinawa with 185,000 troops; a third of the…
Martinis, Carpets and Sacks of Gold: A U.S. Diplomat in French Tunisia
Tunisia achieved independence from France after almost 75 years as a protectorate. Life under French rule was pleasant for some,…
134 Cells, One Inmate: The Closure of Spandau Prison
From November 1945 until October 1946, the International Military Tribunal indicted and prosecuted Nazi leaders for their roles in the…
Evolution of the European Union: Early Seeds of Dissolution?
Britain has always been a part of Europe and yet at the same time, it has seen itself as distinct…