American statecraft
Subtitle: the story of the U.S. Foreign Service
By: J. Robert Moskin
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 932
ISBN-13: 9781250037459
Subjects: United States; United States. Foreign Service; American Diplomatic and consular service; Diplomacy
Description: "This magisterial work on American diplomacy by a veteran journalist and historian is the first complete history of the U.S. Foreign Service American Statecraft is a fascinating and comprehensive look at the unsung men and women of the U.S. Foreign Service whose dedication and sacrifices have been a crucial part of our history for over two centuries. Fifteen years in the making, veteran journalist and historian Moskin has traveled the globe conducting hundreds of interviews both in and out of the State Department to look behind the scenes at America's "militiamen of diplomacy." As the nation's eyes and ears, our envoys pledge a substantial part of their lives in foreign lands working for the benefit of their nation. Endeavoring to use dialogue and negotiation as their instruments of change, our diplomats tirelessly work to find markets for American business, rescue its citizens in trouble abroad, and act in general as "America's first line of defense" in policy negotiations, keeping America out of war. But it took generations to polish these skills, and Moskin traces America's full diplomatic history, back to its amateur years coming up against seasoned Europeans during the days of Ben Franklin, now considered the father of the U.S. Foreign Service, and up to the recent Benghazi attack. Along the way, its members included many devoted and courageous public servants, and also some political spoilsmen and outright rogues. An important contribution to the political canon, American Statecraft recounts the history of the United States through the lens of foreign diplomacy"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 865-894) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: Closing Pandora's box; title: Making a difference; title: The militiamen of diplomacy : 1776-80; title: "The sword was sheathed" : 1781-85; title: Of consuls, commerce, and confidence : 1784-1810; title: Paying off the pirates : 1785-1805; title: "One nation as to foreign concerns" : 1787-95; title: "To prepare for war will be wise" : 1793-1811; title: Drive for identity and respect : 1811-23; title: An early professional : 1825-42; title: The spoils system : 1829-48; title: Expansion westward : 1821-45; title: War with Mexico : 1845-46; title: Consular reform : 1853-65; title: Japan's first American consul : 1856-62; title: The nation at war with itself : 1861-65; title: Public trust, private property : 1866-85; title: First steps to empire : 1898-99; title: Three diplomatic friends : 1898-1905; title: Practicing imperialism : 1898-1905; title: "The main object of diplomacy" : 1905-12; title: Warm-up for a world war : 1899-1914; title: "Well, the roof has fallen in" : 1914-16; title: "Slaughterhouse where madness dwells" : 1915-17; title: "America in Armageddon" : 1917-20; title: The Russian "terror" : 1917-20; title: The new diplomacy of oil : 1919-38; title: "A single unified service" : 1920-45; title: Between world wars : 1920-39; title: Early aggressions : 1934-39; title: "The sands are running fast" : 1931-41; title: "A rattlesnake posed to strike" : 1939-41; title: "A very tragic moment" : 1941-45; title: Foreign service for a new world : 1946-51; title: The foreign service catches up : 1946-88; title: Diversity comes to the elite service 1922-2011 ; China hands : 1946-89; title: Public diplomacy : 1941-2012; title: Diplomacy for American dictators : 1953-89; title: Trujillo and Pinochet; title: contrast in violence : 1960-2004; title: Dangerous diplomacy : 1960-78; title: Terrorists in the embassies : 1968-2009; title: A war too far; title: Vietnam : 1952-75; title: Destiny and the peacock throne : 1951-81; title: Shuttling salesman for peace : 1947-83; title: The very model of a modern foreign service : 1970-2011; title: The first and second Iraq Wars : 1982-2011; title: Fortress America : the embassy : 2004-07; title: New challenges for modern diplomacy : 1970-2012; title: The ambassador : 2011-13.