The Foreign Service Journal - November 2017

52 NOVEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL BY JOHN P I E L EME I ER John Pielemeier is a retired USAID Foreign Service officer, a member of the USAID Alumni Association and an interviewer for the new USAID Oral History program. You can contact him at Jpielemeie@aol.com . I n November 2015, FSJ readers were introduced to a new compilation of books written by former and pres- ent USAID staff, their families and children. The “Bibliography of USAID Authors,” available on the website of the USAID Alumni Association (bit.ly/ usaidbooks) and provided to interested universities, has grown from 170 to 218 titles. Each entry includes a description of the book and a paragraph about the author. It is organized into 10 categories, including photography, video and travel sections, and is updated quarterly. Recent additions provide readers with insights into historic events (e.g., USAID in Afghanistan, Iraq and Bolivia). There are several books on Vietnam and forgotten tales of USAID’s role in the development of Korea, Indonesia and Iran. Memoirs and works of fiction have been added, as well as seven books of photography (e.g., Tibetan nomads) and a series of videos (“EndangeredThreads”). Two comprehensive histories of USAID programs—on urban development and food aid—have also been published recently. Barry Riley’s The Political History of American Food Aid: An Uneasy Benevolence wins my award for best book title (see p. 27). Several of the authors of new books have served with both USAID and the State Department (e.g., Ambassadors Jonathan Addleton, Prince- ton Lyman and Lewis Lucke). Although few of us are likely to read a bibliography, we encourage you to scan it to find a book or two that pique your interest. If you want to read the book, you have several options: BUY: Go to Amazon.com or the pub- lishers’ website and purchase the book (the author will be pleased). BORROW: Go to your local library, or the USAID, State Department or post library; give them the title and author and ask them to obtain the book for you t. PERUSE: Go to Google or Google Scholar and type in the title. You should find lengthy reviews of the book and links to other books on the same topic. You can also search the author and will usually find a lengthy history of that person’s career. LINK UP: Use the link provided in the bibliography (for some titles) to go directly to the book or author. Finally, take a minute to recall other books you’ve read by USAID authors, check the bibliography to see if they are already included. If not, please send me the names of the author and/or the title. Or, if you are writing a book, let me know when it will be published. The bibliography is updated every three months. Q BIBLIOGRAPHY OF USAID AUTHORS –AN UPDATE