The book relates the untold story of the efforts of the U.S. Department of State and selected U.S. Foreign Service posts to train the first Filipino career diplomats before and after Philippine independence in July 1946. These trainees eventually formed the core of the Philippine Foreign Service. In the Philippines, they are fondly and collectively called the "State Department Boys." Some of these pioneer diplomats rose to prominence, becoming distinguished ambassadors to major countries and permanent representatives to the United Nations. Others led less brilliant careers. A few left the Foreign Service shortly after joining. All of them have already passed away - the last surviving member of the group died in 2009 at the age of 93. The book also discusses Philippine-American relations in the wake of Philippine independence, in particular the efforts of the United States to ensure the smooth transition of the Philippines from a colony to an independent state and to enable it to conduct its foreign relations by setting up its Foreign Service and developing a core of professional diplomats. The research is based mainly on primary materials - declassified State Department records at the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland, personal documents, correspondence, and pictures from the Edward W. Mill Collection at the Bentley Historical Library. In addition, the author conducted research in leading libraries and archives in the Philippines and interviewed relatives and friends of the State Department Boys, some of whom shared newspaper clippings, pictures, and other materials for this book.

The book relates the untold story of the efforts of the U.S. Department of State and selected U.S. Foreign Service posts to train the first Filipino career diplomats before and after Philippine independence in July 1946. These trainees eventually formed the core of the Philippine Foreign Service. In the Philippines, they are fondly and collectively called the "State Department Boys." Some of these pioneer diplomats rose to prominence, becoming distinguished ambassadors to major countries and permanent representatives to the United Nations. Others led less brilliant careers. A few left the Foreign Service shortly after joining. All of them have already passed away - the last surviving member of the group died in 2009 at the age of 93. The book also discusses Philippine-American relations in the wake of Philippine independence, in particular the efforts of the United States to ensure the smooth transition of the Philippines from a colony to an independent state and to enable it to conduct its foreign relations by setting up its Foreign Service and developing a core of professional diplomats. The research is based mainly on primary materials - declassified State Department records at the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland, personal documents, correspondence, and pictures from the Edward W. Mill Collection at the Bentley Historical Library. In addition, the author conducted research in leading libraries and archives in the Philippines and interviewed relatives and friends of the State Department Boys, some of whom shared newspaper clippings, pictures, and other materials for this book.

A journalist and former congressional staffer exposes the inherent contradictions and internal conflicts that hamper the State Department and could stymie the war on terrorism.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize With deft portraits of many world figures, Dean Acheson analyzes the processes of policy making, the necessity for decision, and the role of power and initiative in matters of state. Acheson (1893–1971) was not only present at the creation of the postwar world, he was one of its chief architects. He joined the Department of State in 1941 as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs and, with brief intermissions, was continuously involved until 1953, when he left office as Secretary of State at the end of the Truman years. Throughout that time Acheson's was one of the most influential minds and strongest wills at work. It was a period that included World War II, the reconstruction of Europe, the Korean War, the development of nuclear power, the formation of the United Nations and NATO. It involved him at close quarters with a cast that starred Truman, Roosevelt, Churchill, de Gaulle, Marshall, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Attlee, Eden Bevin, Schuman, Dulles, de Gasperi, Adenauer, Yoshida, Vishinsky, and Molotov.

Mad Men meets the Foreign Service in this candid depiction of the hidden worlds of a high-functioning alcoholic. From the main line of Philadelphia to the summer scene in Bar Harbor ME, William Newlin grew up surrounded by adults who made the cocktail hour seem glamorous. At boarding school and Harvard, and at his first diplomatic posting in Paris, Newlin seemed to lead a charmed life - except for a habit of secret drinking that grew from year to year. The deception continued through many assignments, both overseas in Guatemala, Brussels, and Nice, and in Washington, D.C. at the Operation Center, the State Department crisis control hub. Newlin meticulously recounts the routines he established for each venue, playing a game of cat-and-mouse with his colleagues, family, and friends. We are periodically reminded of alcohol's role in the '50s and '60s culture of white male privilege, but there have been few first-hand accounts. Drunk at the State Department tells that story with candor and erudition, providing a glimpse into a patrician, vanishing world.