The Foreign Service Journal, November 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2016 35 Before Noon: The Lighter Side of Diplomacy Charles A. and Teresita McGinley, Lulu Press, 2010, $15/paperback, 116 pages. In 2010, at the age of 90, retired FSO Charles A. McGinley co-authored this charming set of reflections with his wife, Teresita, on a long, fulfilling Foreign Service career with the U.S. Information Agency. As McGinley says in his foreword, “Due to the nature of my work as a cultural affairs officer I came into contact with various shapes, sounds and the numerous nervous twitches representative of the diversified talent found in our country and abroad.” The McGinleys served mostly in Asia—the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Vietnam and Australia—as well as in Libya, Iran and Washington, D.C. The couple’s eldest daughter, Nancy McGinley Ostrovsky, has contributed exquisite ink sketches to this volume that give a real sense of those locales. Charles McGinley, who passed away in May at the age of 96, concludes his foreword as follows: “Although my tales represent a humorous side of foreign affairs, I do not wish to convey the impression that life in the Foreign Service consisted of fun and games. All of us, to the best of our abilities, engaged in the serious matter of maintaining and improving good diplomatic, as well as personal, relations with our foreign hosts. And, as we all know, serious matters sometimes turn humorous.” Journey to Ithaka Dave Grimland, Lulu Press, 2015, $14.99/paperback, $8.99/Kindle, 234 pages. During a 28-year career as a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Information Agency and later the State Department, Dave Grimland encountered hardship, joy and, most of all, rich cultural experiences. His memoir chronicles his time with the United States Information Service in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Bangladesh and India from 1967 to 1995.