Some of those named as American ambassadors are the product of both a time-honored tradition and a thinly veiled form of corruption. 'American Ambassadors' explains how a person becomes an ambassador, where they go, what they do and why, in today's ever more globalized world, they are more important than ever.

The story of Joseph Clark Grew (1880-1965) is the story of the modern American diplomatic tradition. Grew served the U.S. government for over forty years, with an impressive career that included two ambassadorships, two secretaryships, two ministerships, and every junior rank in the service. Grew was in Berlin when the U.S. went to war with Germany in 1917, was American Ambassador to Japan during the years leading up to Pearl Harbor, was Undersecretary of State during the war, and was instrumental in planning U.S. postwar strategy in the Far East. In this rich and intimate biography, Heinrichs draws on Grew's vast diary, correspondence, and several private and official collections to reconstruct the life of an extraordinary career diplomat. Here, Joseph C. Grew emerges as a man of peace who used both skill and insight to slow the world's progress toward World War II.

How do American citizens become ambassadors, and how do they serve as U.S. representatives overseas during such troubled times? What is embassy life really like? How do ambassadors deal with host governments and with officials back in Washington and conduct operations during emergencies and serious crises? Seventy-four senior diplomats give us personal and insider accounts of important experiences. Their comments provide useful insights into the business of diplomacy and will interest students, teachers, practitioners in international affairs, not to mention the general public. Following a brief historical introduction, the interviewees describe their reasons for becoming ambassadors, the appointment process, their training, the management of an embassy, problems in dealing with heads of state and officials at home. They discuss troubles in Korea and Laos, the Six-Day War in 1967, the Jonestown Affair, hostilities in Cyprus, the Fall of Saigon, civil strife in Nicaragua, along with terrorism, coups, and other demonstrations of violence in the 1970s and 1980s. They point to the future role of ambassadors.

If you ever wondered who becomes an American ambassador and why, this is the book for you. It describes how Foreign Service officers become ambassadors by rising up through the ranks, and why they typically make up about 70 percent of the total number of ambassadors. It also covers where the other 30 percent come from—the political appointees who get the job because they helped elect the president by supporting him as a campaign contributor, a political ally, or a personal friend. It explains why, despite being illegal and a threat to national security, selling the title of ambassador remains a common practice that is also unique to the United States. It considers why some suggestions for reform are misguided, what might be done, and why who the president is matters so much in determining how well the United States will be represented abroad. This updated and revised edition of Jett's classic book not only provides a timely overview of American ambassadorship for Foreign Service Officers, aspiring diplomats, and interested citizens, but also calls for much-needed reform, describing the dire implications of failing to change our ambassadorial appointments process for the future of American diplomatic practice and foreign policy.

From addressing letters to local officials to sending formal invitations to foreign chiefs of state, this complete guide provides the correct usage of names, titles, and forms of address for anyone on any occasion. For any personal or professional situation where formality is of the essence and proper decorum is the expectation, this book offers critical information on how to address, introduce, and communicate with officials, functionaries, and dignitaries from all walks of life. From presidents to pastors, ambassadors to attorneys general to your local alderperson, Honor and Respect offers clear explanations and examples of the official honorifics of thousands of federal, state, and municipal officials; corporate executives; clergy; tribal officials; and members of the armed services in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It also includes titles and guidance on addressing high officials from more than 180 countries. This updated third edition reflects the nuanced changes in language, protocol, and conventions that have been implemented by the State Department, Armed Forces, and myriad other government offices in the United States and beyond. With its all-encompassing scope and quick-reference format, Honor and Respect provides easy access for all who seek the proper protocols of forms of address. This book is an indispensable reference for individuals and offices working in government, foreign affairs, diplomacy, law, the military, training and consulting, and public relations, among others.

Arthur Bliss Lane was a hugely experienced American Diplomat, having worked all over the world before his posting to the Polish Government in 1944. The Polish Government was then in exile in London and he gained a great deal of respect for the Polish leadership. He followed them back to their homeland in 1945 as the Poles sought to set-up a democratic state from the smashed debris of years of Nazi domination. What transpired was a new form of despotism in Soviets, in this memoir Bliss gives a detailed history of Poland from 1944-1947, the post-war border changes and the Soviet creation of a puppet state in Poland after WWII. In Bliss’ view the Poles were hung out to dry by the Allies after 1945 and his memoir provides compelling evidence of this.

General of the Armies John J. Pershing (1860–1948) had a long and distinguished military career, but he is most famous for leading the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. He published a memoir, My Experiences in the World War, and has been the subject of numerous biographies, but the literature regarding this towering figure and his enormous role in the First World War deserves to be expanded to include a collection of his wartime correspondence. Meticulously edited by John T. Greenwood, volume 2 of John J. Pershing and the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, 1917–1919 covers the period of October 1 through December 31, 1917. During this time, Pershing focused his efforts on working with the French Ministry of War, the General Staff, and the field Army on training and equipping the AEF's few available combat divisions for frontline service. Russia's defection from the coalition and the surprising Italian defeat at Caporetto in October rocked the Allied ranks, and this volume addresses the creation of the Supreme War Council and the House's American War Mission—bodies that reexamined the Entente's military and diplomatic strategy and ultimately cemented the alliance. The correspondence also reveals how the House Mission revived the divisive issue of amalgamating arriving American troops into existing British and French combat divisions—something that Pershing utterly opposed and saw as a threat to the AEF. The dispute never resolved and irritated British prime minister Lloyd George and French premier Georges Clemenceau so much that both would try to engineer Pershing's removal in the following year. Extracts from the large volume of rarely referenced cablegrams represent an important contribution to Pershing's wartime story.