American Avatar: The United States in the Global Imagination
One of the most important public diplomacy books is American Avatar.  A unique, fascinating, and worthwhile exploration of the opportunities and risks of American global engagement. I recommend Barry's book for students and practitioners of strategic communication and public diplomacy.--Matt Armstrong, U.S.Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy“As Americans try to redefine their place in the world, it is crucial to understand how people around the globe form their opinions about the United States. Image does matter, and Barry Sanders, experienced in international law and diplomacy, does a fine job of explaining how America's image takes shape and how it might be improved.”—Philip Seib, professor of journalism, public diplomacy, and international relations at the University of Southern California and author ofThe Al Jazeera Effect“Sanders’s book is fascinating. It challenges assumptions and offers a way forward in this area of great importance to our nation.”—Howard L. Berman, former chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs"The avatar of America portrayed by Barry Sanders is a storehouse of complexity, contradictions, paradoxes, inconsistencies, dynamism, and kaleidoscopic variety. If, as Emerson suggested, ‘foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds,’American Avatarwill appeal to those whose minds are relatively large. Exploring the abundance of both positive and negative ‘images’ of America and the inclinations of those receiving the images to select and re-cast them according to their own favored ‘predispositions,’ Sanders concludes with lessons to guide U.S. foreign policy and public as well as formal diplomacy."—Charles Wolf, Jr., Distinguished Corporate Chair in International Economics, The RAND Corporation; professor, The Pardee Rand Graduate School; and senior research fellow, Hoover Institution“In this fascinating volume Barry Sanders cuts through the swirling fog of misperceptions that cloud the image of the United States, both at home and abroad. Magisterial in scope, but sharply focused and judicious in analysis,American Avataris an essential read in these difficult times for all those seeking a path to rational understanding of America’s place in the world.”—Peter C. Whybrow, director of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and author ofAmerican Mania: When More Is Not Enough