The Foreign Service Journal, November 2004

The Humanitarian Conscience: Caring for Others in the Age of Terror W. R. Smyser, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, $23.80, hardcover, 320 pages. This is a timely study, right from the first chapter that paints a portrait of the 65,000 to 75,000 profes- sionals engaged at any one time today carrying out humanitarian work in the midst of crises — whether it is protection, relief, post-conflict reconciliation or rehabilitation. Carefully researched and engagingly written, the book traces the history of humanitarian activity, from its origin in the natural-law concepts of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, through its vicissitudes as the nation-state rose to prominence through the 20th century, and the rise after World War II of per- manent United Nations organizations to deal with refugees and of NGOs to carry out humanitarian mis- sions. The author argues that the United States and the West have increasingly disregarded the humanitar- ian conscience at a time when it is needed most. W. R. Smyser, a retired FSO, directed the State Department refugee program and served as U.N. deputy high commissioner for refugees during the 1980s. He has visited more than 50 countries on five continents in over three decades to study and help con- duct humanitarian operations. He is the author of From Yalta to Berlin (2000), The German Economy: Colossus at the Crossroads (1993) and How Germans Negotiate (2003). U.S. Development Aid — An Historic First: Achievements and Failures in the Twentieth Century Samuel Hale Butterfield, Praeger Publishers, 2004, $92.95, hardcover, 336 pages. The first comprehensive account of U.S. develop- ment assistance policies and their implementation in Africa, Asia and Latin America, this book is a singular contribution to the literature on so-called Third World development. The book traces the changes in U.S. aid strategy and policies over the decades following President Truman’s groundbreaking Point Four pro- gram initiative in 1949, assessing both the achieve- ments and challenges. Samuel Butterfield, a retired FSO, served from 1958 through 1980 with USAID in Africa, South Asia and Washington, D.C. Following retirement he taught theory and practice of international development and has served as an adviser on sustainable resource man- agement in the Third World. This is his first book. The U.S. and Mexico: The Bear and the Porcupine Jeffrey Davidow, Markus Wiener Publishers, 2004, $24.95, paperback, 298 pages. This highly engaging book, whose Spanish-language edition is already a best-seller, offers a revealing look at the complex U.S.-Mexican relationship through the eyes of the ambassador who served both Clinton and Bush. The author guided U.S. policy through Mexico’s democratic transition and Vicente Fox’s election, and through the phase of euphoric friendship between Presidents Bush and Fox and the later distancing in the run-up to the war in Iraq. The book draws heavily on the author’s experiences from 1998 to 2002 and also examines current U.S. policies, especially those relating to immigration, and the so-far-unsuccessful efforts to find new approaches to old problems. Said retired FSO Ted Wilkinson, in a review for the FSJ (September 2004): “Davidow has given us an engross- ing, revealing, vivid and, at times, hilarious account of four historic years that spanned two Mexican presiden- cies.” Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow retired in 2003 after 34 years in the Foreign Service. In addition to Mexico, he served as ambassador to Venezuela and Zambia, principal deputy assistant secretary for African affairs, and as assistant secretary of State for Latin America. He is now president of the Institute of the Americas in La Jolla, Calif. The U.S. and Mexico has been nominat- ed for the American Academy of Diplomacy’s 2004 Book Award. Mexicans & Americans: Cracking the Cultural Code Ned Crouch, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2004, $22.95, paperback, 260 pages. “I can’t tell you how many times in the course of my international business career I’ve heard successful executives say that the ‘cultural thing’ is the most difficult part of doing business around the world,” author Ned Crouch says in his introduction to this insightful and highly readable book. Though Crouch’s reference point is business relationships, you F O C U S 20 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 4