The United States Department of State is not the monolithic entity it may at first appear to be. The lack…
John S. Service – The Man Who “Lost China,” Part I
During the 1950’s hundreds of government employees, entertainers, educators, and union activists were accused of being communists by Senator Joseph…
The Ever-changing Nature of the American Foreign Service
The Foreign Service has undergone major reforms and tinkering over the past century, so much so that people often joked…
Oliver Platt — Actor and Foreign Service Brat
Oliver Platt is a talented character actor who has appeared in major blockbusters (X-Men: First Class), critically acclaimed TV series…
The Failed Attempt to Avert War with Japan, 1941
The attack by the Imperial Japanese Army against the Naval Base at Pearl Harbor catapulted the United States into World…
Radio Free Europe: An Insider’s View
Back to Diplomats and Diplomacy Radio Free Europe: An Insider’s View Veteran RFE insider J. F. Brown’s story of the…
444 Days: Memoirs of an Iran Hostage
More than thirty years later, the Iran Hostage crisis still ranks as one of the most traumatic diplomatic events in…
Learning the Brazilian Candomble Dance
Candomblé, meaning “dance in honor of the gods” in Portuguese, is an Afro-Brazilian religion developed during the earliest days of…
A Ride to Remember: Exploring Cold War Russia via the Trans-Siberian Railroad
It was unusual for any Americans during the Cold War to travel in the Soviet Union but Russell Sveda did…
A Cold End to the Prague Spring
In 1968, growing opposition to the failing sociopolitical and economic policies of hard-line Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, led by Antonín…