The Foreign Service Journal, October 2019

36 OCTOBER 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Journey Across Time takes readers through eventful times as the author witnessed massive floods, bomb blasts and the aftermath of politically motivated violence. She describes the view from overseas of Y2K and 9/11. Journey Across Time features the vibrant festivals and the notoriously chaotic driving of South Asia. These journeys to remote places evoked a sense of thankfulness and appreciation as Boggs came to realize how so many things Americans often take for granted are hard-earned in the developing world. The author had the opportunity to meet many unusual individuals along the way, from kings, artists and movie stars to Mother Teresa, maharajas and politicians. She portrays them all in lively and compassionate prose. Susan Boggs is a singer, artist and author who served on the boards of the American Women’s Association in New Delhi and Colombo as vice president for programs. She also served on the board of the Women’s International Club in New Delhi as the newsletter editor. Journey Across Time is available from the publisher: austinmacauley.com. Cotton Fields to Summits: The View From Contested Ground George Kennedy, SETAF Publishing, 2017, $20/paperback, 426 pages. Cotton Fields to Summits tells the story of author George Kennedy’s journey from the cotton fields of South Carolina as a child to the heights of international diplomacy in the 1990s, when he served as consul general in Toronto during the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Throughout his military and Foreign Service career, Kennedy participated in or witnessed numerous historic events. He was on military duty in northern Italy when the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961, and he saw close-up the impact of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on the German people while assigned to Embassy Bonn. He watched the buildup to the U.S. involvement in Vietnam in 1965 during a tour in the Philippines and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy in Rome to try to end the VietnamWar in 1973. As deputy assistant secretary, he witnessed Nelson Man- dela’s history-making visit to the State Department in 1990 and represented the State Department during White House planning sessions that led to the Gulf War in 1991. He served as a senior adviser to Ronald H. Brown, the first African American Secretary of Commerce. Kennedy discusses his “Chorus of Angels,” people in his life who guided him through an unlikely career during which he experienced great heights of success, as well as disappointing setbacks. He talks about how life is ultimately about choices, and how people should bring their best possible judgment to the choices they make. Muddy Roads Blue Skies: My Journey to the Foreign Service, From the Rural South to Tanzania and Beyond Vella Mbenna, Muddy Roads Press, 2019, $16.99/paperback, 228 pages. As a child, Vella Mbenna loved to gaze at the clouds and dream of exploring the world beyond the back roads of her rural Georgia hometown. But after a failed marriage left her jobless, broke and with a young child to care for on her own, Mbenna moved back in with her parents. Desperate to make a better life for her- self and her son, she accepted a job in the U.S. Foreign Service. Though she had never dreamed she would become a diplomat, she went on to enjoy a 26-year career as an information manage- ment officer. Along the way, Mbenna was forced to battle sexism, prejudice and numerous professional setbacks. But she refused to give up. She advanced through the ranks from an FS-9 to an FS-1. She earned a heroism award for her actions after the 1998 bomb- ing of the U.S. embassy in Tanzania (her efforts were central to restoring essential communications with Washington). She also received an Equal Employment Opportunity Award in 2015 for her EEO work at Embassy Tunisia during her last assignment before retiring. Mbenna’s message is that wherever you are in life right now, you can still go further and reach your highest calling. The book is part motivational memoir and part how-to guide to success. Each chapter focuses on a theme, ranging from dreams and perseverance to forgiveness and gratitude.