The Foreign Service Journal, November 2007

Jade Phoenix Syd Goldsmith, iUniverse, 2006, $19.95, paperback, 326 pages. Pen strokes shatter dreams of nationhood, foreign devils challenge ancient Chinese cus- toms, and love blooms in a wilderness of misunderstand- ing in this cross-cultural adven- ture. When Taiwanese millionaire Ko-sa Ong shows up with Jade Phoenix in Washington, D.C., to meet Nick Malter, the lives of all three interconnect in a struggle of love, betrayal and misunderstanding. Nick, an American reporter, wants to be understood and accepted by the Chinese as much as he wants to understand them. Ko-sa has everything, except a son and a nation; and Jade has nothing after her father, a senior Nationalist general, commits suicide. Best friends, Ko-sa and Nick share an abiding hatred of Chiang Kai-shek and the cynical American Secretary of State who would forever deny the Taiwanese their country. Both risk all for each other, but give up every- thing for the love of Jade. Syd Goldsmith weaves a plot line of loyalty and treachery in the lives of these three characters, against the background of the monumental change that even- tually brought democracy to Taiwan. Jade Phoenix , Goldsmith’s first work of historical fiction, was a finalist for the New Voices in Literature Award and a semi- finalist in the William Faulkner Competition. The author served as an FSO from 1963 to 1989, mostly in South America and China. As the unofficial U.S. consul general in Kaohsiung, he took part in Taiwan’s transformation from a martial-law dictatorship to the first-ever Chinese democracy. After retiring, he returned as a management consultant to Chinese state- owned and private companies. He lives in Taipei with his wife Hsiu-chen and their two children. Assignment Sahara: Chad and Sudan Anne Kimbell, iUniverse, Inc., 2006, $14.95, paperback, 204 pages. After lobbying her father relentlessly, the daughter of a prominent U.S. senator gets permission to join a church group aiding refugees in Sudan. While delivering food and medical supplies, the girl mysteriously disappears. Her father and the embassy are desperate to track down her whereabouts, and Janine Simms, an experienced CIA operative, is called in. Simms is sent to Chad under the auspices of the American embassy. She is given the job of backing up aid missions to Sudanese refugees as cover to embark on her dangerous mission. She treks north to the unchart- ed Tibesti Mountains of Chad, aided by Barx, her expe- rienced bush pilot, and Lilli’s father, the frantic senator. Determined and incredibly skilled, Simms confronts the treacherous terrain and even an insurgent stronghold in search of the senator’s daughter. Anne Kimball is the executive director of the Westcliff Center for the Performing Arts in Colorado. Assignment Sahara: Chad and Sudan is the third thriller she has written following The Ibeji Twins: London and Nigeria (2004) and To Catch a Spy (2000), set in Tunisia. The former wife of retired FSO James F. Relph Jr., the author has lived and worked in all of these countries. 36 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 Ordering through afsa.org Here’s how it works: 1. Go to the AFSA Web site, www.afsa.org . 2. Click on the Marketplace tab (second brown tab from the right). 3. Click on the “AFSA and Amazon Books” icon. 4. Click on “FS Authors” and then go directly to book listings by subject. 5. Shop away! Not only is this a thrifty, efficient way to do your holiday shopping, but AFSA receives a 5-percent commission from Amazon on every item (books, CDs, toys, etc.) ordered in this manner. Books selected from the AFSA Web site bookstore generate an even higher commis- sion payment. And ordering through AFSA doesn’t cost you a cent. So bookmark the AFSA site, use the link and help your association — and yourself!