The Foreign Service Journal, November 2004

Retired FSO Wilson Dizard Jr. served in the State Department and the USIA from 1951 to 1980, and is the author of seven books and many articles. This book is part of the ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Series, and has been nominated for the American Academy of Diplomacy’s 2004 Book Award. The Return of the Exiles: Australia’s Repatriation of the Indonesians, 1945-47 Frank C. Bennett Jr., Monash University Press, 2003, $42.80, paperback, 328 pages. With the declaration of independence of the Republic of Indonesia at the close of World War II, Australia found itself torn between loyalty to its European allies and sympathy with the anti-colonial struggle in Asia. In assisting the return of Indonesian political dissidents interned by the Dutch or sheltered in Australia, Canberra effectively supported the Indonesian independence movement, to the consterna- tion of the Dutch. The story of the return of these exiles, comprehensively researched and engagingly related in this book, provides an illuminating record of relations among the Australian, Dutch and Indonesian govern- ments at the time and of Australia’s efforts to define a distinct foreign policy of its own. Frank Bennet Jr. is a retired FSO who now lives in Melbourne. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, he served largely in Southeast Asia, including three years in Indonesia. The Anguish of Surrender: Japanese POWs of World War II Ulrich Straus, University of Washington Press, 2004, $27.50, hardcover, 272 pages. “In The Anguish of Surrender , Rick Straus combines scholarship, exper- tise and empathy to convey, for the first time in English, the truly dra- matic and deeply human stories of Japanese POWs … In the process he advances our understanding of the paradoxical wartime roots of postwar Japanese- American friendship,” Kenneth Brown and Robert Funseth write in their foreword to this unusual book. Beginning with an examination of Japan’s prewar ultra- nationalist climate and the harsh code that precluded the possibility of capture, the author investigates the circumstances of surrender and capture of the Japanese POWs and how they dealt with their dilem- ma, both in captivity and, later, in reintegrating in their homeland after the war. He shows, among other things, how, despite the bitterness of the war, trained Allied linguists extracted information from the POWs by affording them humane treatment. Ulrich “Rick” Straus lived for 21 years in Japan, first as a child and later as a U.S. Army language officer during the occupation, when he participated in the trial of Japan’s major war criminals. A career FSO, Straus was consul general of Okinawa from 1978 to 1982 and retired in 1987. Since then he has taught at various universities in the Washington, D.C., area. This book is part of the ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Book series. Captain Hogan: Sailor, Merchant, Diplomat on Six Continents Michael H. Styles, Six Continent Horizons, 2003, $20.22, paperback, 434 pages. This biography of Michael Hogan (1766-1833), written by his great- great-great-grandson, FSO Michael Styles, is the story of an adventurous seaman, merchant and diplomat who traveled the world’s oceans and lived on six continents during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The book is based on a wealth of original letters and other memorabilia of Capt. Hogan and on supplementary research in libraries, archives and historical societies around the world. The author presents a rich narrative that cap- tures the many details of Hogan’s life and the historical background of the events and activities in which he was involved. Of particular interest to Foreign Service readers will be the chapters covering Hogan’s consular career, describing the early days of the Department of State and the diplomatic and consular corps. Michael Styles is a retired FSO who lives in Fairfax Station, Va. A history buff, he teaches history courses at the Learning in Retirement Institute at George Mason University. Poland: A Transitional Analysis Richard J. Hunter Jr., Leo V. Ryan CSV, and Robert E. Shapiro, PIASA Books, 2003, $15.00, paperback, 204 pages. F O C U S 26 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