The Foreign Service Journal, November 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2013 41 Montilla, Fidel’s heir apparent. But her leverage is matched by his discovery of a deep secret in her past. Meanwhile, Nick also has to ferret out a web of spies deep inside the U.S. government and foil an assassination plot against the Castros’ number-one enemy, the U.S. president. Steeped in the world of government secrets, and drawing on his diplomatic service in Cuba, the author makes readers feel like they’ve been cleared into a top-secret program. James Bruno was a State Department diplomat for 23 years, and is currently a member of the Diplomatic Readiness Reserve, subject to worldwide duty on short notice. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he worked as a military intelligence officer and as a journalist. Mr. Bruno’s Foreign Service assignments included Guantanamo Naval Base (where he was a liaison to the Cuban military), Pakistan, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Wash- ington, D.C. Three previous political thrillers by Mr. Bruno were all best sellers: Chasm (2007), Tribe (2011) and Permanent Interests (2012). CHILDREN’S BOOKS A Street Dog’s Story: The Almost 100% True Adventures of Labi Eric and Tracy Whittington, Illustrations by Alessandro Vene, published by the authors, 2012, $2.99, e-book, 37 pages. After growing up as a street dog in the Congo, Labi is brought home by a human and must adjust to the rules and animals within her new home. This heartwarming, illustrated children’s tale tells the story of the trials Labi faces in adjusting to this new way of life, including learning how to be a house dog and accepting that she cannot eat the family cat. In addition to being an endearing read, the book is full of won- derful illustrations depicting Labi and all of her friends. Its e-book format allows the reader to double-click to enlarge the story’s font as needed. Importantly, 25 percent of the proceeds for A Street Dog’s Story will be donated to Humane Society International’s Street Dog Defender Campaign, which fights for the protection of stray dogs worldwide that are subject to inhumane treatment by govern- ments and individuals. Eric and Tracy Whittington, a tandem Foreign Service couple,