The Foreign Service Journal, November 2010

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 43 Richard H. Solomon is president of the United States Institute of Peace; he formerly served on the National Security Council staff and was ambassador to the Philip- pines. Nigel Quinney, who has more than 20 years of experience as an editor, writer and researcher, is the president of The Editorial Group and a consultant to many corporations. Great Negotiations: Agreements that Changed the Modern World Fredrik Stanton, Westholme Publishing, 2010, $26, hardcover, 304 pages. Great Negotiations begins with a rephrasing of the idea that the pen is mightier than the sword: “Words, as much as weapons, shape history.” In the sub- sequent text, Fredrik Stanton explores eight negotiations in history, stretching from the Revolutionary War to the Cold War, and explains that “the better we understand what has worked in the past and which mistakes to avoid, the less often states may find the need to resort to vio- lence to settle differences.” Stanton expertly establishes the context and impor- tance of each entry, giving readers an idea of exactly why the outcomes of the negotiations were influential. (See Patricia Kushlis’ review in the June FSJ .) Fredrik Stanton was born in New York City and re- ceived a B.A. in political science from Columbia Uni- versity. He is the former president and publisher of the Columbia Daily Spectator and has written for numerous publications, including the Boston Herald . He has also served as an election monitor in Bosnia, Azerbaijan and three other countries. Peru and the United States, 1960-1975: How Their Ambassadors Managed Foreign Relations in a Turbulent Era Richard J. Walter, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010, $75, hardcover, 333 pages. Despite a historically friendly relationship between Peru and the United States, some notable exceptions occurred from 1960 to 1975. In his new book, Richard J. Walter chronicles these diplomatic minefields and the ambas- sadors who navigated them. Utilizing newly released material from the U.S. State Department and records from Peru’s Foreign Ministry archives, Walter paints a picture of some- times-turbulent foreign relations. He profiles the American and Peruvian ambassadors — among oth- ers, Berckemeyer, Pastor and Jones — who worked to maintain relations between their respective countries during this anomalous decade and a half in U.S.- Peruvian interaction. Richard J. Walter holds a Ph.D. from Stanford Uni- versity and is currently Professor Emeritus of History at Washington University in St. Louis. He has written ex- tensively on South American history and is also the au- thor of Politics and Urban Growth in Santiago, Chile, 1891-1941 (Stanford University Press, 2005). The Atlantic Century: Four Generations of Extraordinary Diplomats Who Forged America’s Vital Alliance with Europe Kenneth Weisbrode, Da Capo Press, 2009, $30, hardcover, 496 pages. In the June Foreign Service Journal ’s review of The Atlantic Century, Edwina Campbell described the book as “quite simply, the finest, most balanced work of diplomatic his- tory that [she has] read in many years.” Kenneth Weisbrode takes readers through the his- tory of modern American-European ties and the crit- ical agencies and people that solidified an alliance, including the State Department’s Bureau of Euro- pean Affairs and prominent statesmen like Dean Acheson. In addition to featuring specific profiles of important figures, the author reminds us that assid- uous work is the key to building and maintaining these relations. KennethWeisbrode is the founder and managing ed- itor of the journal New Global Studies and a history fel- low at the Center for Advanced Studies of the European University Institute. He has also worked as a defense analyst.