The Foreign Service Journal, November 2013

28 NOVEMBER 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL ments for the agency for the next 20 years, in addition to working as a senior executive with a global Korean industrial manufactur- ing group. He lives in Hanover, N.H., and teaches international affairs at Dartmouth College. They Broke the Mold: The Memoirs of Walter Birge Walter Birge, edited by Virginia Birge, Paul Mould Publishing, 2012, $13.54, paperback, 420 pages. From an affluent beginning in peaceful New England, to a tumultuous and storied 12-year career as a Foreign Service officer during and after World War II, the memoirs of Walter Birge Jr. offer a window into the workings of the still- young Foreign Service during a critical era. Walter Birge Jr. served as a Foreign Service officer from 1940 until 1953. The accounts provided in this book were written by Birge between 1990 and 1992 and edited after his death by his wife, Virginia. They detail the adventures of the FSO serving in such key locations as Turkey during World War II and Prague from 1945 to 1949. Known as the “Scarlet Pimpernel of Prague,” he helped many escape the communist takeover. He also served in Argentina, Mexico, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and French West Africa. Later chapters recount vignettes from his time directing the Czech division of Radio Free Europe and his representation of the state of Ohio in Brussels as vice president of the international division of BancOhio. Walter Birge died in 2002, at the age of 89, in Plymouth, Mass. His widow, Virginia Birge, who resides in coastal Massachusetts, edited his memoirs in 2004 and 2005. Tip of the Dragon’s Tongue: The Adventures of a Young American Diplomat in China TomNiblock, CreateSpace, 2012, $14.99, paperback, 216 pages. Recalling his first tour as an FSO at Embassy Beijing, Tom Niblock offers stories of his travels throughout the city and other parts of China. Rather than write about the specific duties he has as a representative of the United States in that country, he focuses on his curiosity about, and interactions with, the Chinese people and their dramatically different culture and customs. In many short chapters, with dialogue translated for the American reader, the author makes apparent the stark differences between Chinese and American lifestyles, as well as the differ- ences among people and places within China. The experiences he recounts range from tours to feed hungry tigers to puzzling encounters on a crowded train (to the surprise of many locals, he was proficient in Mandarin). After two years, Niblock acknowl- edges that he has only touched the “tip of the dragon’s tongue,” but he clearly has some very memorable adventures to share. TomNiblock, who served in Beijing from 2010 to 2012, is now posted in Islamabad. A native of rural Iowa, he earned his master’s degree at Princeton University before joining the Foreign Service. White Lilies in Autumn Dustin W. Bradshaw, Millennial Mind Publishing, 2012, $22, paperback, 288 pages. Never lose hope. That is the lesson that echoes through the pages of Dustin W. Bradshaw’s memoir, White Lilies in Autumn . After being devastated by the death of an infant, Bradshaw searches for ways to cope with the unimaginable loss. Much of the book deals head-on with facts of life that are seldom discussed openly, such as death, depression and abuse. His reflections on these topics give the work a dignified tone and lead to Bradshaw’s main point. With a strong sense of storytelling, Bradshaw leads the reader through various points of his life, demonstrating how they are all connected. With the clarity of hindsight, he discusses the lessons he has learned. Bradshaw’s bravery in confronting the past and using it as a tool, as well as his intensely emotional descriptions, will captivate readers and provide inspiration. After attending school and working in Hawaii, Dustin Brad- shaw joined the Foreign Service and is serving in Manila. White Lilies is his first published work. From the Inside Out John David Tinny, New Academia/Vellum, 2013, $26, paperback, 312 pages. In 1956 John David Tinny began a tur- bulent decade on the “Golden Road to Samarkand,” his vision of the pinnacle to an FSO’s career. He recounts that period in this new volume in the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training’s