Overview

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.

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9798200877799

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Reviews

A thought-provoking, important contribution to the study of diplomacy in general, and to the role of the American ambassador specifically. -- Peter Van Buren, author of We Meant Well Ambassador Dennis Jett offers an unvarnished and insightful analysis of why people are selected for the coveted position of ambassador and how they are evaluated once they take office. -- Harry K. Thomas Jr., Director General of the Foreign Service (Ret.)

Author Information

Dennis C. Jett is a professor and founding faculty member at the School of International Affairs at Pennsylvania State University. A former career diplomat, he served twenty-eight years in the State Department in a wide range of positions including as ambassador to Peru and Mozambique and on the National Security Council. He is the author of four books: Why Peacekeeping Fails, Why American Foreign Policy Fails, American Ambassadors, and most recently, The Iran Nuclear Deal. Joe Barrett began his acting career at the age of five in the basement of his family's home in upstate New York. He has gone on to play many stage roles, both on and off-Broadway, and in regional theaters from Los Angeles, Houston, and St. Louis to Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Portland, Maine. He has appeared in films and television, both prime time and late night, and in hundreds of television and radio commercials. Joe has narrated over two hundred audiobooks. He has been an Audie Award finalist eight times, and his narration of Gun Church by Reed Farrel Coleman won the 2013 Audie Award for Original Work. AudioFile magazine has granted Joe fourteen Earphones Awards, including for James Salter's All That Is and Donald Katz's Home Fires. Regarding Joe's narration of John Irving's A Prayer For Owen Meany, AudioFile said, This moving book comes across like a concerto . . . with a soloist-Owen's voice-rising from the background of an orchestral narration. Joe is married to actor Andrea Wright, and together they have four very grown children.

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