The Foreign Service Journal, November 2004

F O C U S 46 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 Building Diplomacy: the Architecture of American Embassies Elizabeth Gill Lui, Cornell University Press in association with Four Stops Press, 2004, $50.00, hardcover, 256 pages. This stunning coffee-table book is a comprehen- sive photographic documentary featuring the archi- tecture of U.S. embassies that presents a vivid por- trait of America’s international diplomatic pres- ence. Divided into geographic sections, with an introductory essay by Jane C. Loeffler, an architec- tural historian based in Washington, D.C., photog- raphy and commentary by Elizabeth Gill Lui, noted fine art photographer and educator, and cul- tural montages by Lui’s daughter and collaborator, Keya Keita, this work constitutes an unprecedent- ed archive of America’s international diplomatic properties, from the first to the newest. Building Diplomacy is part of the ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Book series. Common Sense on Weapons of Mass Destruction Amb. Thomas Graham Jr., University of Washington Press, 2004, $12.95, paperback, 206 pages. The choice is not between traditional nonprolif- eration and counterproliferation policies, as some believe, but between a strengthened and successful NPT regime and gradual descent into a world in which many states possess nuclear weapons and in which every conflict is a potential nuclear con- frontation. This is the argument Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr. makes in this concise and lucid presentation of the complex and never-more- urgent issue of nuclear proliferation. A former gen- eral counsel and acting director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Graham was President Clinton’s special ambassador for nuclear disarmament issues. As the Twig Is Bent, or, Did I See the Best of America Malcolm Wilkey, Xlibris, 2004, $28.99, paperback, 647 pages. This autobiography portrays one life out of “The Greatest Generation” that is varied and eventful, spanning and intertwining the fields of law, war- fighting and diplomacy. The author recounts his progress from a depression years’ boyhood to a scholarship to Harvard, critical experiences on the front lines of World War II, to service as a U.S. attorney and federal judge, and ambassador to Uruguay under the Reagan and Bush administra- tions. This is a well-written story, alive with experi- ences involving the average American. Ambassa- dor Wilkey resides in Santiago, Chile. Engaging India: Diplomacy, Democracy and the Bomb Strobe Talbott, Brookings Institution Press, 2004, $27.95, hardcover, 268 pages. Between June 1998 and September 2000, Deputy Secre- tary of State Strobe Talbott and Indian Minister of External Affairs Jaswant Singh met 14 times in the most extensive engagement ever between the U.S. and India. It was a dialogue that led to the opening of a new chapter in relations between the two. More than an insider’s perspective on a fascinating episode in diplomatic history, this story is vital back- ground for understanding what happens next in a region that is home to nearly a quarter of humani- ty. Currently president of the Brookings Institu- tion, Strobe Talbott served as deputy secretary of State from 1994 to 2001. Engaging India has been nominated for the American Academy of Diplomacy’s 2004 Book Award. OF RELATED INTEREST…