The Foreign Service Journal, November 2013

42 NOVEMBER 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL have served in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Armenia, Canada and Bolivia. They are currently working on a sequel to the book, titled A Street Dog’s Mission , to be released in 2014. They live in Virginia with their Congolese street dog and Bolivian street cat. (See the end of this page for a book on genealogy by Tracy herself.) World Adventurers for Kids M.G. Edwards, Brilliance Press, 2013, $11.65, paperback, 96 pages. This compilation of three children’s books ( Alexander the Salamander, Ellie the Elephant and Zoe the Zebra ) is designed to teach children valuable lessons while pro- viding entertaining stories and beautiful illustrations of global landmarks and wild environments. Young children will enjoy the stories of an adventuring salamander with his rainforest friends, a courageous elephant attempting to achieve his goal of playing polo, and a group of defensive pals from the African bush set against a bullying pack of hyenas. The stories are supplemented by wonderfully illus- trated vistas and humorously drawn animals with large eyes. The book is in large print, which makes it easy to read for both young kids and adults of all ages. After serving as an FSO in South Korea, Paraguay and Zambia, M.G. Edwards left the Foreign Service in 2011 to write fantasy, thriller, travel and children’s books full time. He currently lives in Bangkok with his wife, Jing, and their elementary-aged son, Alex. POTPOURRI Blaming No One: Blog Postings on Art, Letters, Policy Dan Whitman, New Academia Publishing, 2012, $23.40, paperback, 258 pages. A variety of topics comprise this volume of blog postings by Dan Whitman, who was compelled to publish his thoughts in the blogosphere to “scratch an itch.” As it turns out, he became quite comfortable with the 800-word-maximum format, producing enough posts to amass an audience and publish a book. The author first garnered attention after blogging about his interactions with Laurent Gbagbo, the former “young African leader,” so labeled by the United States years ago, who ended up ruling Côte d’Ivoire in a heavy-handed dictatorship until his arrest in April 2011. Not all of Whitman’s reflections pertain to his tenure in the Foreign Service. Also included in this book are pieces related to science, history and the arts—though most of them do relate to foreign affairs and policy. Whitman has learned to make good use of 800 words, concisely providing insight on a variety of subjects about which he has a great deal of knowledge. Dan Whitman was a Foreign Service officer for both the U.S. Information Agency and the Department of State, finishing his service in 2009. He served in Denmark, Spain, South Africa, Haiti and Cameroon. He is the author of four other books, including A Haiti Chronicle: The Undergoing of a Latent Democracy (Trafford, 2005), and has written for The Foreign Service Journal . He teaches foreign policy at American University. Slow Roads! Beautiful Drives through Portugal for Cars & Motorcycles Jorge M. Serpa, Adamastor Travel, 2011, $24.99, paperback, 272 pages. This is a driver’s travel guide to Portugal’s mountains, coastlines and villages. It outlines 13 separate tours through vari- ous parts of the country, which consist of cultural and histori- cal sites and recommended places to eat and sleep, as well as other places the author found remarkable. In addition to having numerous maps, the book can be registered online for easy GPS use, allowing the reader to input the coordinates for places they would like to stop. Jorge Serpa was born in Lisbon and has traveled extensively with his wife, FSO Lucy Tamlyn. He wrote this book in 2009, when, due to State Department regulations, he was not allowed to accompany his wife on her one-year tour in Iraq. During that year, he moved back to Portugal and traveled the country, gaining detailed knowledge of its byways. Claiming Your History: How to Incorporate Your Past into Your Present Tracy Whittington, published by the author, 2012, $3.99, e-book. You don’t have to be royalty to have a reason to browse your own family history, according to this how-to book by FSO Tracy Whittington. While some lineages seem on the surface to have contributed more to history than others, Whittington says, every