Paying calls in Shangri-La : scenes from a woman's life in American diplomacy / Judith M. Heimann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heimann, Judith M., author.

Series:

ADST-DACOR diplomats and diplomacy series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Heimann, Judith M.

United States. Foreign Service--Officials and employees--Biography.

United States.

United States. Foreign Service.

Women diplomats--United States--Biography.

Women diplomats.

Diplomats--United States--Biography.

Diplomats.

Diplomacy.

Social aspects.

History.

Diplomats' spouses.

Diplomats' spouses--United States--Biography.

Diplomacy--Social aspects--History--20th century.

United States--Foreign relations--1945-1989.

International relations.

Genre:

Biographies.

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

xii, 233 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Athens, Ohio : Ohio University Press, [2016]

Summary:

"Judith M. Heimann entered the diplomatic life in 1958 to join her husband, John, in Jakarta, Indonesia, at his American Embassy post. This, her first time out of the United States, would set her on a path across the continents as she mastered the fine points of diplomatic culture. She did so first as a spouse, then as a diplomat herself, thus becoming part of one of the Foreign Service's first tandem couples. Heimann's lively recollections of her life in Africa, Asia, and Europe show us that when it comes to reconciling our government's requirements with the other government's wants, shuttle diplomacy, Skype, and email cannot match on-the-ground interaction. The ability to gauge and finesse gesture, tone of voice, and unspoken assumptions became her stock-in-trade as she navigated, time and again, remarkably delicate situations. This insightful and witty memoir gives us a behind-the-scenes look at a rarely explored experience: that of one of the very first married female diplomats, who played an unsung but significant role in some of the important international events of the past fifty years. To those who know something of today's world of diplomacy, Paying Calls in Shangri-La will be an enlightening tour through the way it used to be--and for aspiring Foreign Service officers and students, it will be an inspiration"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Prologue

Political Apprenticeship in Africa

Paying Calls

Party Magic

Domestic Dramas

Diplomacy at the Dining Table

Learning to Drive a Bargain

Girl Talk

Swifts in the Eaves

Among Ex-Headhunters

A "Tandem" Wife on Trial

A Moment of Cold War Intrigue

Getting Out in Public

Latin Tags

Heroics in the Hinterland

Farewell to Africa

Back in the Heart of Europe

Being in Charge

Encores

Honesty, the Best Policy

Epilogue

Appendix: Our Foreign Service Career.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

9780821422328

0821422324

9780821422335

0821422332

OCLC:

948339818