Whether America's diplomacy succeeds or fails depends heavily on its foreign service professionals. The U.S. Foreign Service is little known or understood, but Career Diplomacy fills the gap. It is an insider's guide that explains the service as an institution, a profession, and a career.

Harry W. Kopp and Charles A. Gillespie, both of whom had long and distinguished careers in the foreign service, provide a full and well-rounded picture of the organization, its place in history, its strengths and weaknesses, and its role in American foreign affairs. Based on their own experiences and through interviews with over 85 current and former foreign service officials, the authors lay out what to expect in a foreign service career, from the entrance exam through midcareer and into the senior service.

A candid account of the life and work of this country's professional diplomats, Career Diplomacy educates its reader about those who advance and protect U.S. national security interests around the globe. The book details who America's professional diplomats are, their purpose and achievements, and the culture in which they operate. Invoking recent challenges in diplomacy—like the political turmoil in Iraq—Kopp and Gillespie explore how the service needs to change in the years to come. The authors also include several useful appendices, including the Department of State's organization chart, core precepts of the foreign service, and a list of internet resources.

Lawrence S. Eagleburger, former Secretary of State, praises the book as “the best description of life in the foreign service—its challenges, dangers, satisfactions, and fun—I have ever seen. It paints a superb picture of life abroad and at home, including both its good and bad aspects, and does a brilliant job of pointing out how our diplomacy must change if it is to meet the tremendous changes and challenges of the twenty-first century.”

More Praise for Career Diplomacy

“Frank, incisive, and a good read, this book told me many things I never really understood about the foreign service. I don’t know how we got along without it.”

—John R. Galvin, former supreme Allied Commander in Europe and
former commander-in-chief, U.S. European Command

“Harry Kopp and Charles Gillespie have produced an insightful and comprehensive response to the questions, ‘What is the foreign service and why do we need it?’ This is a required read for anyone contemplating a career in the foreign service.”

—Stephen W. Bosworth, dean, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

“A clear, unvarnished look at life in the United States Foreign Service, what works, and what doesn’t. Career Diplomacy should be must reading for every foreign service officer—and everyone else who represents our country overseas.”

—Ann Blackman, author of Seasons of Her Life: A Biography of Madeleine Korbel Albright

"This book is a gem, a one—stop shop for citizens, U.S. officials, foreign diplomats, and prospective American foreign service officers who want to understand how American diplomacy and foreign policy are organized and conducted. This carefully structured and well-written volume features rich and balanced insights into the foreign service, and sheds a clear light on its three core functions of representation, overseas operations, and policy. Essential reading on the culture and institutions of American diplomacy and on the ins and outs of working in a foreign service career."

—Chester A. Crocker, James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies,
Georgetown University

"Career Diplomacy is a fascinating and readable book about one of America's lesser known assets—the diplomatic service. As Ambassador, I recognized how critical these foreign service people are to America's place in the world. This tells that story."

—James R. Jones, former U.S Ambassador to Mexico and
chairman of the World Affairs Councils of America

"Career Diplomacy is an informative, entertaining, and inspirational read. Intended as a guide to the United States Foreign Service for the interested layman, the book is equally useful to individuals considering careers in the foreign service; to policy professionals who need to know how a critical component of government functions; or to citizens simply wanting to know how they are served by the professionals who represent them overseas, carry out foreign operations on the ground, and advise their government on foreign policy. Within ten crisply written chapters the authors illuminate the purposes, history, structure, and future of the foreign service. They do so with insight and charm, drawing heavily on the experiences of dozens of foreign service women and men. Reading this book will inspire young people to yearn for a foreign service career; will generate collegial confidence among policymakers in other government branches; and will assure citizens that their foreign service tax dollars are well spent."

—Louis W. Goodman, dean, School of International Service, American University