The Foreign Service Journal, November 2021

38 NOVEMBER 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL consequential diplomatic failure in the history of the United States.” He does so in thrilling detail, documenting the misunderstandings, confusions, betrayals, egotism and cowardice that led to this failure with the help of memoirs, diaries, letters and other source materials left by the principals on both sides of the Atlantic. A former career Foreign Service officer, Philip Zelikow worked on international policy in each of the five administrations from Ronald Reagan through Barack Obama. Currently, he is the White Burkett Miller Professor of History and J. Wilson Newman Professor of Governance at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Being in North Korea Andray Abrahamian, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, 2020, $19.95/paperback, e-book available, 200 pages. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s really like to live and work in the Hermit Kingdom, then this is the book, and the author, for you. Andray Abrahamian, who speaks fluent Korean (“sometimes with a Pyongyang accent,” he notes), has read or written something about North Korea nearly every day for the past 15 years. As its title indicates, Being in North Korea is full of stories he gathered during more than 30 trips to Pyongyang, where he and a buddy set up and ran Chosun Exchange, a nongovernmental organization that trains North Koreans in economic policy and entrepreneurship. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. During his decade of direct involvement with North Korea, Abrahamian also assisted an NGO start-up focused on tuberculosis prevention and ran sports tournaments. He seamlessly weaves together his own experiences with history lessons and analysis of the country’s politics, society and foreign relations. Yet he never loses sight of the humanity of his interlocutors, even the ones most devoted to the regime. Andray Abrahamian joined the Foreign Service as a tandem with his wife, Victoria Cook, in 2020. He has published extensively on Asia issues; his first book, North Korea and Myanmar: Divergent Paths (McFarland, 2018), compares Asia’s pariah states. He is a nonresident fellow at the Korea Economic Institute, a visiting scholar at George Mason University Korea and a senior adjunct fellow at Pacific Forum. During the 2018- 2019 academic year, he was the Koret Fellow in Korean Studies at Stanford University’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center. Keepers of the Sheep: Knitting in Morocco’s High Atlas and Beyond Irene Waggener, 106 Meters from the Road, 2021, $40/paperback, 150 pages. Readers of this fascinating book will learn about a knitting tradition that stretches back in time through many generations—possibly to the very ori- gins of the craft. The collection of seven essays and 13 patterns will also give readers glimpses of life in a Moroccan village where knitting once played a critical role in helping the community survive harsh, snowy winters. The patterns in this book include traditional designs by shepherds who want to share their knowledge with other knitters and future generations. In addition, Waggener’s research examines the history of knitting not just in Morocco, but across North Africa. Through historical accounts, linguistic clues and museum artifacts, some of which have not been available to the general public until now, she presents a holistic view of the craft in this region. As requested by the shepherds who contributed their expertise to the book, the author will donate a portion of the proceeds from its sale to a women’s cooperative based in Ait Bouli, Morocco. Cooperative Ibilou will use the funds for community development projects benefiting everyone in the village. Irene Waggener enjoys researching and writing about knitting traditions around the world. Her work draws on participant observation and interviews, as well as historical, linguistic and archaeological evidence to situate the craft within the broader themes of economy, society and politics. She has lived in Japan, Niger, Jerusalem and Morocco, and currently lives in Armenia with her husband, Foreign Service Officer Josh Waggener.