The Foreign Service Journal, November 2005

among them One Easy Piece (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1981) and My Sister’s Keeper (Putnam, 1983). He and his FSO wife Holly have lived for most of the last 13 years outside the U.S., presently in Berlin. Selected Poems, 2001-2004 Robert W. Proctor, The Mesilla Valley Press, 2004, $5.00, paperback, 28 pages. Asked what inspires him to write, author Robert Proctor says: “Inspiration for me comes from feelings that won’t permit rest unless I try to put into words my views on what is bright and dark, resolved and disjointed, peaceful and violent in the nature of humankind. This is said in the context of a universe I perceive as both incredibly beautiful and uncompromisingly harsh, and with a belief that man himself is the primary source of all his delights and woes.” This vision and inspiration is reflected in this collection, both in its 16 poems and in the author’s award-winning photograph of a dramatic storm-cloud formation that graces the book’s cover. Robert W. Proctor is a retired FSO who served in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Originally from Santa Fe, he and his India-born wife now live in La Lux, N.M. His writings have been published in a num- ber of journals, including Border Senses , The Inkspot and Sparrow Forum , as well as the Foreign Service Journal . To purchase this book, write to Mesilla Valley Press, P.O. Box 847, Las Cruces NM 88004-0847. The Olympic Charioteer Helena Schrader, iUniverse, 2005, $22.95, paperback, 416 pages. This historical novel tells the story of a slave and a charioteer in ancient Greece. Antyllus of Tegea, a landowner of power and wealth, is devastated by his son’s death defending Tegea against Sparta. Philip, the abused quarry slave Antyllus purchases out of spontaneous pity, has an uncanny affinity for horses. Now Tegea’s fortunes are on the rise, but Antyllus can find pleasure in nothing. He worries, moreover, that the city’s victo- ry over Sparta is being used by certain radicals to undermine the democratic constitution, for the man who won the decisive victory is a demagogue. While Tegea slips into tyranny, Antyllus turns his back on pol- itics and focuses his hopes and dreams on an Olympic victory. Through an engaging story, with predominantly fic- tional characters, The Olympic Charioteer provides the modern reader with insights into ancient Greek society and, in particular, challenges many clichés about Sparta. The book describes the events that led to the establishment of the first non-aggression pact in recorded history: the mutual defense treaty between Sparta and Tegea was the prototype for a series of treaties resulting in formation of the Peloponnesian League. Helena P. Schrader joined the Foreign Service in June, and is currently in language training in prepara- tion for her first assignment as vice consul in Oslo. Previously, she spent 20 years working in Berlin, where she lived with her German-born husband. Her interest in ancient Greece was sparked by a holiday trip to the Mediterranean. She is the author of a German- language biography of a member of the German Resistance to Hitler, General Friedrich Olbricht: Ein Man des 20. Julis (Bouvier Verlag, Bonn, 1993). Her book comparing the experience of women pilots in the U.S. and U.K. during World War II, Sisters in Arms , is due out from Pen & Sword Books of the U.K. in 2006. She is now working on a book on the Berlin Airlift for release at the 60th anniversary of that event in 2008. Star Over Chingat Will Sutter, PublishAmerica, 2004, $19.95, paperback, 205 pages. A top-secret Russian military satellite is about to fall to earth and scatter itself across the northern desert of Naurlandia, in the African Sahel. Secretary of State Malcolm Trowbridge, an unreconstructed Cold Warrior, intends to recover a sensitive decoder from the satellite debris as part of his ongoing turf bat- tle with the CIA and to discomfit the Russian bear. Foreign Service officer Paul Scarborough, detailed from the State Department’s special ops section, quick- ly finds himself on his way to Naurlandia. His mission: F O C U S N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 39