“Edward Marks’s highly engaging and poignant memoir is also a valuable primer on the profession and art of diplomacy and the inner workings of institutions such as the U.S. State Department, the military, and the United Nations. Marks’s memoir is a paean to the golden age of diplomacy and multilateralism. . . . [Readers] will come away with admiration for his modesty, quiet humor, and commitment to service and to creating a better world.”—Milinda Moragoda, high commissioner of Sri Lanka to India, founder of the Pathfinder Foundation, and former cabinet minister in Sri Lanka
“Edward Marks’s literate memoir of four decades practicing diplomacy in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America is highly readable—as well as fun. A sharp observer of social and political behavior, he shows how the contrasting characters of European colonizers left lasting effects on their former colonies. . . . Highly recommended.”—William Harrop, former U.S. ambassador
“A relatively small corps of several thousand American Foreign Service officers . . . promote and defend U.S. interests every day of the year as diplomats based in American embassies, consulates, and missions in every country in the world. How they carry out their responsibilities, and how they meet the many challenges that arise, constitutes a fascinating story. After a long and varied career in diplomacy, Edward Marks relates that story with sharp insights and nonstop amusement.”—Herman J. Cohen, former assistant secretary of state for African Affairs
“Edward Marks takes us to the diplomatic coalface––the ‘workaday life of the American Foreign Service Officer.’ His main tools are observation, listening, and putting the results into language that bosses back home can understand. This is your handbook on what diplomacy is all about. . . . In a feast of anecdotes, you can smell the atmosphere in downtown Bissau, Luanda, Lubumbashi, Lusaka, and Nairobi––‘small Foreign Service posts . . . on the periphery of mainstream diplomacy,’ much more interesting than Paris, Moscow, or Beijing.”—Robert Cox, former European Union official and occasional diplomat
“A seasoned diplomat’s memoir adds to our knowledge of practice, appealing to readers across countries. . . . The hallmark of Marks’s writing is his gentle humor, cloaking his passion.”—Kishan S. Rana, former ambassador, Indian Foreign Service
