The Foreign Service Journal, November 2015

58 NOVEMBER 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL working as a community liaison officer; bidding on posts; dealing with health crises; attending and hosting events; and dealing with reverse culture shock when you return home. This hilarious e-guide to thriving abroad is as indispensable for those embarking on an FS career as it is for those who have been in the Foreign Service for years. Donna Scaramastra Gorman is a freelance writer who is married to a Diplomatic Security agent. The couple and their four children have been posted to Russia, Armenia, Kazakh- stan, China and Jordan. She also spent a year as a single parent while her husband worked in Baghdad. The family is currently posted in Moscow. Gorman’s work has appeared in Newsweek, The Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post, The Foreign Service Journal, Seattle Times, Parade, The Insider’s Guide to Beijing and other publications. Adaptation in Bulgaria: Three Bulgarian Productions of American Plays Ken Moskowitz, Penny-a-Page Press, 2015, $9/Kindle, 278 pages. In this comprehensive study, Ken Mos- kowitz provides readers with a fascinat- ing cross-cultural perspective on three Bulgarian productions of well-known American plays. The author examines Bulgarian productions of Dale Was- serman’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America” and Edward Albee’s “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?” with a series of questions: What transformations are necessary to best facilitate Bulgarian audience enjoyment and understanding? Are there some things that cannot be trans- lated thematically or linguistically, and what replaces such “untranslatable” moments? And what can we learn about the nature of theatrical adaptation in general? Moskowitz addresses long-held ideas regarding adaptation and audience using interdisciplinary methods from the study of theater arts, comparative literature, intercultural commu- nication, international relations and LGBT studies, as well as detailed surveys of Bulgarian audience members and the plays’ critical reception. Ken Moskowitz retired from the Foreign Service in 2015, after 30 years as a public diplomacy officer. He has served in Sofia, Tokyo, Budapest and Kyiv. He completed this project, his second book, on return from his posting as public affairs officer in Sofia. He is currently marketing director for the Arlington Players, and his articles on film, theater and public diplomacy have appeared in both popular and academic publications. Sharing Secrets: A Conversation about the Counterintuitive Nature of Executive Leadership Erin Soto, 2014, TLC Solutions, $26.50/paperback, 276 pages. With more than 30 years in career leader- ship positions to back her up, Erin Soto offers a practical guide for those look- ing to follow in her footsteps. Sharing Secrets is an insider’s view of what makes a good executive, and will enable readers to improve their leadership and manage- ment skills. Avoiding buzzwords and business jargon, Soto writes accessibly, providing real world examples of challenges encountered in both her own career and the careers of the clients she has coached. Individual chapters cover organizational culture, staff development, team motivation, communication, strategizing, investing in team members, time management, problem solv- ing and work-life balance. She also advises that leaders employ empathy and compassion when dealing with others, rather than the ruthlessness some leadership guides promote. “More than ever before, organizational leaders must effec- tively manage for change and strategically communicate more than just good ideas and intent,” says former Acting USAID Administrator Alonzo Fulgham. “ Sharing Secrets provides a practical and concise change management roadmap for senior managers across the business spectrum.” Retired FSO Erin Soto has been in leadership positions around the globe with the Peace Corps and USAID, serving in Mali, Senegal, Haiti, Peru, Cambodia and India. While in the Senior Foreign Service, she led programs related to health and education, conservation, counternarcotics, agriculture, gover- nance and energy. She currently runs her own business, TLC Solutions, offering expert assistance in organizational develop- ment and executive coaching.