The Foreign Service Journal, November 2005

USIA from 1985 to 1999. During his first career as a pro- fessor of linguistics and Asian studies at Yale and Cornell (1967-1985), Huffman published nine books on Southeast Asian languages. He and his wife Sanda, a pro- fessional interpreter, live in Washington, D.C. “Two Friends”: Another Version of the Willa Cather Classic Thomas R. Hutson, River Junction Press LLC, 2005, $5.00, paperback, 14 pages. This brief memoir, issued on the 50th anniversary of the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial and Educational Foundation, takes its title from one of Cather’s best-known short stories. The memoir is a tribute to two women and the work they did to pioneer the revival and preservation of the literary works and persona of Willa Cather, one of America’s best female writers, in Cather’s hometown of Red Cloud, Neb. Ironically, author Thomas R. Hutson, who was also raised in Red Cloud, had to go to Tehran to have his inter- est in Willa Cather piqued. There, as a first-tour Foreign Service officer conducting English language conversation classes at the Iran-America Society, Hutson was confront- ed out of the blue by a student: “Did you know Willa Cather?” He had to admit, with chagrin, that he didn’t really know her writing. There began a voyage of discovery into the great author’s works, into his own family’s past in Red Cloud, collaboration with the Cather Foundation and, finally, efforts to repair the estrangement of the “two friends” who were the Foundation’s guiding lights. Recently re-employed as the U.S. representative on the U.K. Provincial Reconstruction Team in Mazar-e- Sharif in Afghanistan, retired FSO Thomas R. Hutson is now a diplomatic associate at the University of Nebraska’s Center for Afghanistan Studies. A Last Look (Revisited): Western Architecture in Old Shanghai Tess Johnston and Deke Erh, Old China Hand Press, 2004, $58.00, hardcover, 240 pages. This gorgeous coffee-table book captures the charm and atmosphere of Old Shanghai as expressed in its archi- tecture. From the late 19th century to 1941, the city was divided into the international and French conces- sions and dominated by Western commercial activity. Each wave of international settlement brought new energy and style to the city. As Tess Johnston writes in her introduction, “The ensuing mélange of building styles is what makes Shanghai unique. There are few cities in the world today with such a variety of architec- tural offerings, buildings that stand out in welcome contrast to their mediocre modern counterparts.” But they are fast disappearing under the pressures of population and progress. The best still surviving have been preserved in this book, now in a second, expanded edition. The stunning photographs are complemented by informative captions, and grouped in sections such as commerce, residences, etc. Introductions by the collaborators, retired FSO and China hand Tess Johnston and photographer Deke Erh, give a historical perspective and depth to this labor of love. Tess Johnston has had over 30 years of exciting diplomatic assignments, including Berlin, Paris, Vietnam and, for the past two decades, Shanghai, where she retired and still resides. Deke Erh has a 20- year career in photography and journalism, having established himself as the earliest freelance photogra- pher in China. The two have published 12 volumes on Western architecture in old China. This book can be ordered by mail. Send a check made out to “Old China Hand Press,” in U.S. dollars and drawn on an American bank, to: Tess Johnston, Old China Hand Research Service, Donghu Lu 70/3/201, Shanghai 200031, China. Me May Mary Mary Cameron Kilgour, Child Welfare League of America Press, 2005, $13.95, paperback, 184 pages. This is a the story of a young woman who, despite heavy odds, refuses to fail. With the help of a loving brother and a few caring adults, she negotiates her passage from a chaotic, impoverished and abusive childhood with violent, alco- holic parents, through unsuccessful foster homes and, F O C U S 34 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 5