Examines the opera Porgy and Bess's long history of invention and reinvention as a barometer of 20th-century American expectations about race, culture and the struggle for equality.

In the three decades from the beginning of World War II Australia emerged on the world stage as an independent actor in foreign affairs. The key institution overseeing the development of Australia's international status and foreign policy during that period was the Department of External Affairs. This stimulating collection of essays explores the history of this government department as it grew from being a small amateur bureaucratic player to become a professional global network. This book sheds new light on the major figures in Australian international history, H. V. 'Doc' Evatt, Percy Spender, Richard Casey, Garfield Barwick and Paul Hasluckandmdash;and their relationships with their senior bureaucratic advisers. The experiences of Australian diplomats, as they joined the Department of External Affairs as junior recruits and worked overseas, are also examined. Ministers, Mandarins and Diplomats tells the story of the people, the events and the ideas that shaped Australian foreign policy and gave Australia its identity in the eyes of the rest of the world.

The first book in a two-part series that examines the unique Canadian experience and outlook in regard to generalship and the art of the admiral.

In Backpack Ambassadors, Richard Ivan Jobs tells the story of backpacking in Europe in its heyday, the decades after World War II, revealing that these footloose young people were doing more than just exploring for themselves. Rather, with each step, each border crossing, each friendship, they were quietly helping knit the continent together.

Recipient of a 2023 Certificate of Merit for Best Historical Research in Recorded Jazz from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections Keith Hatschek tells the story of three determined artists: Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, and Iola Brubeck and the stand they took against segregation by writing and performing a jazz musical titled The Real Ambassadors. First conceived by the Brubecks in 1956, the musical’s journey to the stage for its 1962 premiere tracks extraordinary twists and turns across the backdrop of the civil rights movement. A variety of colorful characters, from Broadway impresarios to gang-connected managers, surface in the compelling storyline. During the Cold War, the US State Department enlisted some of America’s greatest musicians to serve as jazz ambassadors, touring the world to trumpet a so-called “free society.” Honored as celebrities abroad, the jazz ambassadors, who were overwhelmingly African Americans, returned home to racial discrimination and deferred dreams. The Brubecks used this double standard as the central message for the musical, deploying humor and pathos to share perspectives on American values. On September 23, 1962, The Real Ambassadors’s stunning debut moved a packed arena at the Monterey Jazz Festival to laughter, joy, and tears. Although critics unanimously hailed the performance, it sadly became a footnote in cast members’ bios. The enormous cost of reassembling the star-studded cast made the creation impossible to stage and tour. However, The Real Ambassadors: Dave and Iola Brubeck and Louis Armstrong Challenge Segregation caps this jazz story by detailing how the show was triumphantly revived in 2013 by the Detroit Jazz Festival and in 2014 by Jazz at Lincoln Center. This reaffirmed the musical’s place as an integral part of America’s jazz history and served as an important reminder of how artists’ voices are a powerful force for social change.