The Foreign Service Journal, November 2003

Ellsworth Bunker: Global Troubleshooter, Vietnam Hawk Howard B. Schaffer, University of North Carolina Press, 2003, $34.95, hardcover, 365 pages. This is the first biography of Ellsworth Bunker (1894-1984), one of America’s foremost post-World War II diplomats, and an important addition to recent American history. A successful business executive and lobbyist before his career in international affairs, Ellsworth Bunker served seven U.S. presidents as ambassador to Argentina, Italy, India, Nepal and Vietnam, and on special negotiating missions. A well-known “hawk” on Vietnam, he helped shape U.S. policy there, and subsequently helped reshape U.S. policy on the Panama Canal. Howard B. Schaffer is director of studies at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University. The book is part of the ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Series. (See article on p. 37 for excerpts from the book.) POLICY STUDIES AND ISSUES How Germans Negotiate: Logical Goals, Practical Solutions W. R. Smyser, United States Institute of Peace Press, 2003, $17.50, paperback, 246 pages. Drawing on interviews with European and American negotia- tors and his own considerable experience, W.R. Smyser offers diplomats and businesspeople an incisive portrait of their German counterparts that is especially relevant in this period of rocky transatlantic relations. How Germans Negotiate begins with an exploration of the roots of contemporary German negotiating behavior and goes on to identify the stages through which nego- tiations typically pass, using examples from the past 50 years. A separate chapter focuses on business and economic negotiations, which can be quite different from diplomatic encounters. In reviewing a number of recent cases, including discussions on global monetary policy and the Daimler-Chrysler talks, Smyser discerns a tension between a traditional “old” style and a more predatory “new” style. The book’s conclusion lays out basic strategies and tactical pointers, and explains how to avoid mistakes. A retired FSO, Smyser writes and lectures on German and European politics, diplomacy and economics. He teaches at Georgetown University and is a consultant to American and European business firms and foundations. Smyser was involved in laying the groundwork for the opening to China in 1971, and became assistant secretary of State for refugee pro- grams in 1980. He then joined the U.N. as assistant secretary-general and as deputy U.N. high commis- sioner for refugees. He is the author of From Yalta to Berlin: The Cold War Struggle over Germany (2000) and The German Economy: Colossus at the Crossroads (1993). Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: Raising the Iron Curtain Yale Richmond, Penn State University Press, 2003, $35.00, hardcover, 249 pages. Here is proof positive that engagement, not isolation, is the best policy to pursue when we dis- agree with countries. This new book on U.S.-Soviet relations during the Cold War examines the impact of the exchange programs that brought some 50,000 Soviets to America and an even larger number of Americans to the Soviet Union between 1958 and 1988. Based on interviews with Russian and American participants and the personal experiences of the author and other program adminis- trators, the book shows how these programs raised the Iron Curtain and fostered changes that prepared the way for Gorbachev’s glasnost, perestroika and the end of the Cold War. Yale Richmond, now retired, spent more than 40 years in government service and foundation work, including 30 years as a Foreign Service officer in Germany, Laos, Poland, Austria, the Soviet Union and Washington, D.C. His previous books include From Nyet to Da: Understanding the Russians (Penn State Press, 3rd edi- tion, 2002) and From Da to Yes: Understanding the East Europeans (Penn State Press, 1995). F O C U S N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 31