The Foreign Service Journal, September 2006

bility and violence still persisted to some degree. This book offers many insights for students of diplomacy, as well as for practitioners of statecraft, who seek to learn how an embassy can focus its resources and energy to turn around relations with a country in crisis. But perhaps the key lesson is this: despite advances in communications and information technology, diplomacy remains a highly personal endeavor through which its practitioners can help shape international events. Such work is the essence of transformation- al diplomacy. Jonita I. Whitaker is currently man- agement counselor in Khartoum. Yes, Virginia, There Is an East Asia Chasing the Sun: Rethinking East Asian Policy Morton Abramowitz and Stephen Bosworth, The Century Foundation, 2006, $15.95, paperback, 156 pages. R EVIEWED BY S TEVEN A LAN H ONLEY Most books on Asian affairs either examine one country or theme in such depth that they primarily appeal to specialists, or commit the opposite sin, covering so much ground so broadly that they end up being hope- lessly glib. I’m delighted to report that Chasing the Sun: Rethinking East Asian Policy escapes both those traps, and should interest the many mem- bers of the Foreign Service (like this reviewer) who are not Asia hands, but do follow developments in the region. Co-authors Morton Abramowitz and Stephen Bosworth are both emi- nent retired ambassadors who draw on their extensive diplomatic experi- ence. Amb. Abramowitz, this year’s winner of AFSA’s Lifetime Contribu- tions to American Diplomacy Award, is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation (the book’s publisher); Amb. Bosworth is dean of the Fletch- er School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. The two blend their perspectives, and voices, together so smoothly that it is nearly impossible to tell who is writing at any given point. Each of the seven chapters (fol- lowing a foreword by the foundation’s president and the authors’ own intro- duction, both worth reading as well) examines the principal bilateral and multilateral issues East Asia poses for the United States. The authors start with the premise that “The era of absolute American pre-eminence in East Asia is over” — though they also challenge the “massive cliché” of China’s rise. Instead, they propose a less alarming characterization: “China, East Asia’s Community Builder.” Their judicious observations about Beijing’s behavior, and its effects on its neighbors, are unlikely to change the minds of those who are already firmly convinced the PRC is a dire threat to U.S. interests, but they are still valuable in their own right. Abramowitz and Bosworth return to the overarching theme of their book 84 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6 B O O K S Amb. Hume’s book underscores the fact that diplomacy remains a highly personal endeavor. AAFSW BOOKFAIR ARTWORK BOOKS COINS , STAMPS HANDICRAFTS October 13-22, 2006 at Main State Donations accepted. E-mail for info: BOOKROOM@AAFSW.ORG