The Foreign Service Journal, November 2007

oirs, six works of fiction and several unusual specialty books. As in the past few years, a significant portion of our titles are self-published. Our primary purpose in compiling this list is to cele- brate the wealth of literary talent within the Foreign Service community, and to give our readers the oppor- tunity to support colleagues by sampling their wares. Each entry contains full publication data along with a short commentary. As has become our custom, we also include a list of books “of related interest” that were not written by FS authors. While many of these books are available from book- stores and other sources, we encourage our readers to use the AFSA Web site’s Marketplace to place your orders. We have created a Bookstore there with links to Amazon.com. For the few books that cannot be ordered through Amazon, we have provided alternative links and, when the book is not available online, the necessary contact information. — Susan Maitra, Senior Editor POLICY STUDIES & ISSUES Losing the Golden Hour: An Insider’s View of Iraq’s Reconstruction James Stephenson, Potomac Books Inc., 2007, $23.95, hardcover, 224 pages. In emergency medicine, the “golden hour” is the first hour after injury, during which treatment greatly increases survivability. In post-conflict transition terminology, it is the first year after hostilities end. After that, with- out steadily improving conditions, popular support declines and chances for real transformation begin to evaporate. In this book, James “Spike” Stephenson, a retired Senior Foreign Service officer who was USAIDmission director in Baghdad from February 2004 to March 2005, gives an insider’s perspective on how America lost the golden hour in Iraq. Stephenson’s USAID pro- gram, encompassing every area of capacity-building from agriculture and private-sector enterprises to gov- ernance, education, health and democracy initiatives. Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage says in his foreword to the book that Stephenson’s account “fills in the blanks between policy decision in Washington and implementation, or lack thereof, in Iraq … [and] is a vivid reminder of the limits of American power.” James Stephenson has had 28 years of experience assisting states trying to recover from war. He was USAID mission director in Lebanon and in Serbia & Montenegro prior to his Iraq assignment. He also served in Egypt, Grenada, El Salvador and Washington, D.C. A decorated VietnamWar veteran, he is a recognized expert on post-conflict transition, civilian-military cooperation and counterinsurgency. He is currently a senior adviser for security and devel- opment at Creative Associates International, Inc. The book is part of the ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Series. Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs: Canada, The USA and the Dynamics of State, Industry and Culture David T. Jones & David Kilgour, Wiley, 2007, $27.95, hardcover, 352 pages. How did Canada and the United States, neighboring countries with deep-rooted re- spect for human rights, democ- racy and the rule of law, develop such different views on social welfare, foreign policy and the military? Jones and Kilgour, veteran diplomats from both sides of the border, explore the history and dynamics of both coun- tries that have affected the creation of distinct national identities, institutions and ideologies. They maintain that the governments and societies of the U.S. and Canada have neither converged nor diverged over the long term; because of geopolitics, history and culture, both nations are different and always will be. The authors examine how the two perceive each other and their respective roles in the international community. They argue that even though each country pursues a different vision of North America, “the differences are distinctive, defining — but not definitive.” In addition to the $2 billion in daily cross-border trade, the United States and Canada are bound togeth- er by culture and ancestry. Their mutual well-being depends on how well they understand one another. With chapters addressing health care, education, mili- tary defense and more, Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs provides Americans and Canadians a better look at each other, promoting the understanding necessary for greater cooperation. 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 7