The Foreign Service Journal, November 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2014 53 and ears of individuals at the highest level in Great Britain and worked to improve relations at the turn of the 20th century. Dana Cooper is associate professor of history at Austin State University. She is a co-editor of Transatlantic Relations and Modern Diplomacy: An Interdisciplinary Examination (Routledge, 2013). The State Department Boys: Philippine Diplomacy and Its American Heritage Marciano R. de Borja, New Academia/ Vellum, 2014, $38/hardcover, $26/ paperback, 388 pages. In July 1946, following Philippine indepen- dence, the U.S. Department of State and selected U.S. Foreign Service posts trained the first officer corps of the Philippine Foreign Service, fondly known as the “State Department Boys.”These pioneer Filipino diplomats eventually became the pillars of Philippine diplomacy and helped the fledgling republic find its place in the community of nations. An ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy book, The State Department Boys is the first in-depth study of this interesting chapter of diplomatic history. Author Marciano R. de Borja, a career diplomat with the rank of Chief of Mission II in the Philippine Foreign Service, is the author of FSO IV: Starting a Career in the Philippine Foreign Ser- vice (1999) and Basques in the Philippines (2005). The Triumph of Improvisation: Gorbachev’s Adaptability, Reagan’s Engagement, and the End of the Cold War James GrahamWilson, Cornell University Press, 2014, $24.95, hardcover, 204 pages. The Triumph of Improvisation takes a reflec- tive look at the end of the Cold War, from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 to Operation Desert Storm in January 1991. Drawing on deep archival research and declassified papers, the author argues that it was adaption, improvisation and engagement by individuals in positions of power—not a coherent grand strategy—that ended the specter of a nuclear holocaust. James GrahamWilson is a historian at the Department of State. He currently works on Soviet and National Security Policy volumes for the Foreign Relations of the United States series in the Office of the Historian. Hardship Post Robert J. Taylor, Outskirts Press, 2013, $16.61/paperback, $6.99/Kindle, 299 pages. In this memoir, Robert Taylor recounts the life-changing adventure he had while work- ing for three years in Karachi, Pakistan. The Aga Khan, the wealthy and influential imam of the Ismaili Muslims, hired him to help build the world-class Aga Khan University Hospital. Taylor covers both the excitement and the challenges of serving overseas in a foreign culture, and in the process draws a rich portrait of Pakistan and its people. Robert Taylor has been an adviser to the World Bank, USAID, WHO and other international agencies in 30 developing coun- tries. His memoir won first place in the 2012 Royal Palm Literary Awards Competition for unpublished memoirs. Originally from Minnesota, he now lives in Punta Gorda, Fla. Savage Will: The Daring Escape of Americans Trapped Behind Nazi Lines Timothy M. Gay, New American Library, 2013, $16/paperback, $7.99/Kindle, 352 pages. In the midst of World War II, men and women of the 807th Medical Air Evacua- tion Squadron found themselves crash- landing behind enemy lines. Hopelessly stranded hundreds of miles from Allied lines, in a German-occupied Albania already riveted by war, the survivors trudged through snowy mountains for two months desperately trying to stay alive. With the aid of extensive research, Timothy Gay tells one of the most thrilling untold stories of World War II. It is a story of heroism, courage and unfailing determination. Timothy Gay, a historian and writer, is the award-winning author of Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert: The Wild Saga of Inter- racial Baseball before Jackie Robinson (Simon & Schuster, 2011). His essays and op-ed pieces on American history, politics, public policy and sports have appeared in the Washington Post , Boston Globe and USA Today . He resides in Virginia.