The Foreign Service Journal, November 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2014 51 The Poetry of Life II Walter N. Davenport Jr., Strategic Book Publishing, 2013, $14.50/paperback, $9.99/Kindle, 190 pages. Walter N. Davenport Jr. describes his sec- ond collection of “Poetry of Life” (the first volume appeared in 2001), as representing his search for answers to life’s questions. “Sometimes emotional, sometimes playful, it is based on my personal feelings, observations and experi- ences in my life and travels. It is a book about everyday occur- rences, such as love, relationships, hunger, poverty, war, nature and death.” The poem titled “Memory,” for instance, describes lovers who are separated by time and distance, but whose love nonethe- less remains strong. “Lover’s Prayer,” “Lover’s Thanks,” “Lover’s Questions,” “Response” and “Soulmate” all address the openness between two lovers, while “Celestial” tells of a love that is unat- tainable. Born in New Orleans, Walter N. Davenport Jr. is a U.S. Army veteran who also served with the Washington, D.C., metropolitan police force. He was a member of the State Department Foreign Service from 1976 until 1997. Married to a Dutch national, Dav- enport resides inThe Netherlands. The Perfect Pathogen Mark M. Atkisson and J. David Kay, Rhino Air, 2014, $12.95/paperback, $6.99/Kindle, 334 pages. In this futuristic thriller, a dormant pathogen has been awakened and is kill- ing millions around the globe. Dr. Katie McMann, a specialist in the field of aging and longevity, finds herself at the heart of an intense research effort that turns into a race against time for the human race. As she and a team of international experts struggle to track down the source of the killer disease and find a cure, Katie is forced to confront her own mortality and that of those dearest to her. An intense and fast-paced read, The Perfect Pathogen explores the potential cost of human intervention and mismanagement of our planet and its resources, combining a scientific perspec- tive with a deeply personal one. This debut novel, the first of a planned trilogy, was written while both authors worked at Embassy Baghdad. behind J.B.’s life, they come across some very fascinating and sur- prising information. Africa’s Release is an intriguing tale of African culture, develop- ment and exploration. Despite being a work of fiction, the book offers many practical development ideas.Through his vibrant char- acters and vivid description of Africa’s lush surroundings, Wentling weaves a captivating tale that leaves you wantingmore. MarkWentling is a retired Foreign Service officer who began his international career with the Peace Corps in 1970. Since then he has been fortunate enough to travel to all 54 African countries, which inspired him to write his “African Trilogy.”This is the second install- ment, with the last volume, Africa’s Heart , due to release in January 2015. Wentling was born and raised in Kansas, but says he was “made” in Africa. He currently lives and works in Burkina Faso. Maggie Minds Her Business: From Serpent Cults to Secret Files, Maggie’s on the Trail of Murder in the Steamy African Nation of Wahwa Allie Simms, Amazon Digital Services, 2014, $2.99, Kindle, 229 pages. Maggie is a dutiful diplomat in a collaps- ing African country, where an evening of glad-handing at the Fourth of July recep- tion ends with a corpse in the garden. Assigned to tie up the administrative details, Maggie learns that the dead woman’s work gave her access to many of the embassy community’s embarrassing secrets. As she decodes the murdered nurse’s coded medical records, Maggie still has her day job to do: rescuing an anthro- pologist held hostage by a serpent cult (Maggie hates snakes), saving kidnapped schoolgirls and taking a spoiled congres- sional wife shopping as rebel rockets fall. A surprise encounter with her old lover, underground since a fling with terrorism in the 1970s, brings her closer to the truth behind the killing. When insurgents close in, Maggie is trapped with the killer, and both are forced to choose between desire and duty. Allie Simms is the nom de plume of a retired FSO and FSJ contributor whose 28 years in the Service were spent mostly in the Balkans and West Africa. “Allie” explains: “Like most writers, I draw inspiration from real people and real places I knew. In the tiny world of the Foreign Service, readers may be tempted to try and make connections to actual events and personalities. How- ever, Maggie is a work of imagination, not a roman a clef. I chose to write under a pseudonym because I wanted to put some dis- tance between myself and the fictional setting and characters.” Fiction and Poetry continued on page 57