The Foreign Service Journal, November 2009

40 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 9 North from Calcutta Duane Evans, Pecos Moon, 2009, $24.95, hardcover, 348 pages. In this novel, Pakistani in- telligence officer Tarek Durani is assigned to acquire blue- prints of a famous dam in neighboring India. During his investigation, he learns of ter- rorist plans to destroy the dam and kill top officials at its dedication. The dispute over the territory of Kash- mir between India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed powers, means that the success or failure of his mis- sion could be the difference between war and peace in the region. The details of Tarek’s clandestine work, his love affair with an Indian woman and his deter- mination to break through the layers of deception sur- rounding his mission all make for an authentic and gripping narrative. Duane Evans is a former CIA officer with field tours on four continents, including service as a station chief. He received the CIA’s Career Commendation Medal and the Intelligence Star for valor. North from Calcutta , inspired by Evans’ work in South Asia in 1995, is his first novel. Asian Diplomacy: The Foreign Ministries of China, India, Japan, Singapore and Thailand Kishan S. Rana, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, $29.95, paperback, 268 pages. Through painstaking re- search, Kishan S. Rana has filled many gaps in our understanding of Asian diplo- macy. In the process, he crafts an authoritative com- parative account of the diplomatic systems of five prominent Asian nations: China, India, Japan, Singa- pore and Thailand. Ambassador Rana highlights the shared and unique aspects of Asian diplomacy as he attempts to answer the question: what, exactly, is special about Asian diplomacy? This timely work will be of great interest to anyone working in the area and seeking to understand Asia’s approach to foreign affairs. A career officer in the Indian ForeignMinistry, Kis- han Rana served as ambassador to Algeria, Czecho- slovakia, Kenya, Mauritius and Germany. He was a public policy scholar at theWoodrowWilson Center in 2005, where the bulk of this book was written. OF RELATED INTEREST Ordering Books 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 in the lefthand navigation. 4. Click on desired subject listings — books by FS authors are noted. 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 commission 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!