"Working closely with Belmont I learned to appreciate his deep commitment to a just and ethical society. He has a deep devotion to the principles of a democratic society and a passion for education. I know that this book, which encompasses over 40 years of Belmont's distinguished work in the diplomatic service, business, academics, and consulting, makes significant contributions to the body of literature of several disciplines. His international business papers are of special interest as they truly develop important theories and actions for international commerce and social responsibility."—Ruben Armiñana, Ph. D., President, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA."Seldom does one have the opportunity to share in the experiences of a true American diplomat like Belmont Haydel, who has made this book a personal read on the 'business' of international enterprise and government relations. The reader will be captivated by the interpersonal observations of Dr. Haydel's students, friends, and professional associates, as they draw from what he has taught them. The essence of this book comes from understanding what it takes to be a diplomat in good and bad times. This work is timely, given the uncertainty of the present international scenario."—Roy A. Herberger, Jr., Ph. D., President, "Thunderbird, " The American Graduate School of International Management, Glendale, AZ."This no mere eyewitness account. It is a chronicle of how one intelligent and broad-minded American served his country and, at the same time, his own spiritual development throughout a distinguished multi-level career. The notable personalities and events are familiar; what is new and intriguing is how Belmont Haydel's own unique personality intersected with all that history and led to making some of his own."—Michael Skol, former U. S. Ambassador to Venezuela and Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America

The books title is not an accident, as Belmont Haydel feels strongly about A Rendezvous with My Professional Destiny. Providence took him to Latin America and other places around the world in macro-economic pursuits. He found his work as an accountant, a military officer, and a diplomat not adequately fulfilling. Gods enlightenment directed him to higher education, where he spent most of his professional years. This book portrays his life through writings, speeches, and service in his chosen fields -- thus, Making a Difference with people and their lives. A compilation of Haydels academic papers and professional works, with selected themes portrayed in eight chapters, is not intended to be a professional autobiography; it constitutes a memoir, which also delves into some of the authors non-professional experiences. The book serves as an historical reference for practitioners and scholars in international business and economics, as well as strategic management and business policy. This digest of the authors works and achievements is intended as an inspirational piece for young people seeking similar professions. Its content also sheds light on a small fragment of history, thus useful to professionals in the scholarly community. This book is not comprehensive; such a volume would be overwhelming. Colleagues and former students contribute their thoughts in the Epilogue Expression section. Dr. Ruben Armiana, President, Sonoma State University, said, Working closely with Belmont, I learned to appreciate his deep commitment to a just and ethical society. this book, which encompasses over 40 years of Belmonts distinguished work in the diplomatic service, business, academics, and consulting, makes significant contributions to the body of literature of several disciplines. Ehab Al-Shihabi, CPA, Manager, KPMG Consulting, wrote, The most important day of my life occurred when I met Dr. Haydel in 1993, while I was an undergraduate student at the University of Jordan We often discuss economics, world affairs, science, religion [his knowledge of Islam I am a Muslim and Christian/Judaeo concepts is astonishing], politics, and law. His wisdom and vision for the future have helped me shape my life. From another reference, Michael Skol, former U.S. Foreign Service Officer and U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, remarked, This is no mere eyewitness account. It is a chronicle of how one intelligent and broad-minded American served his country and, at the same time, his own spiritual development throughout a distinguished multi-level career. The notable personalities and events are familiar; what is new and intriguing is how Belmont Haydels own unique personality intersected with all that history and led to making some of his own. This compendium includes abstracts of Haydels Masters thesis (Finance and Economics) and Ph.D. dissertation (Management -- Organization Theory & Policy), which are relevant to socio-economic conditions today. Destiny carried him into international affairs, including diplomacy as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, and academia. He presents his views and research on strategic management of multinational corporations and corporate social responsibility. He traces aspects of his Fulbright experiences in Uruguay (1989) and Jordan (1993), where he lived and worked, continuing to make a difference. Haydel discusses his experiences as a diplomat in the 1960s, as presidential appointee of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, reflecting the economic tenor of the times, while he fulfilled assignments in the American Embassy, Rio de Janeiro, as vice-consul; the American Consulate General, So Paulo, as commercial attach; and the American Embassy, Buenos Aires, as economic/commercial officer. He presents segments of his economic reporting and commercial and investment pursuits of American businesses, along with his experiences during his protocol ass

The remarkable untold story of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the five extraordinary men he used to pull America into World War II In the dark days between Hitler’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 and Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt sent five remarkable men on dramatic and dangerous missions to Europe. The missions were highly unorthodox and they confounded and infuriated diplomats on both sides of the Atlantic. Their importance is little understood to this day. In fact, they were crucial to the course of the Second World War. The envoys were magnificent, unforgettable characters. First off the mark was Sumner Welles, the chilly, patrician under secretary of state, later ruined by his sexual misdemeanors, who was dispatched by FDR on a tour of European capitals in the spring of 1940. In summer of that year, after the fall of France, William “Wild Bill” Donovan—war hero and future spymaster—visited a lonely United Kingdom at the president’s behest to determine whether she could hold out against the Nazis. Donovan’s report helped convince FDR that Britain was worth backing. After he won an unprecedented third term in November 1940, Roosevelt threw a lifeline to the United Kingdom in the form of Lend-Lease and dispatched three men to help secure it. Harry Hopkins, the frail social worker and presidential confidant, was sent to explain Lend-Lease to Winston Churchill. Averell Harriman, a handsome, ambitious railroad heir, served as FDR’s man in London, expediting Lend-Lease aid and romancing Churchill’s daughter-in-law. Roosevelt even put to work his rumpled, charismatic opponent in the 1940 presidential election, Wendell Willkie, whose visit lifted British morale and won wary Americans over to the cause. Finally, in the aftermath of Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, Hopkins returned to London to confer with Churchill and traveled to Moscow to meet with Joseph Stalin. This final mission gave Roosevelt the confidence to bet on the Soviet Union. The envoys’ missions took them into the middle of the war and exposed them to the leading figures of the age. Taken together, they plot the arc of America’s trans¬formation from a divided and hesitant middle power into the global leader. At the center of everything, of course, was FDR himself, who moved his envoys around the globe with skill and élan. We often think of Harry S. Truman, George Marshall, Dean Acheson, and George F. Kennan as the authors of America’s global primacy in the second half of the twentieth century. But all their achievements were enabled by the earlier work of Roosevelt and his representatives, who took the United States into the war and, by defeating domestic isolationists and foreign enemies, into the world. In these two years, America turned. FDR and his envoys were responsible for the turn. Drawing on vast archival research, Rendezvous with Destiny is narrative history at its most delightful, stirring, and important.

The acclaimed one-volume biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt, praised by Doris Kearns Goodwin as "brilliant...a magnificently readable saga."

A story of the wise and the shortsighted, the bold and the timid, the generous and the grasping men and women who have been the stuff of American reform.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Discover the game-changing theory of the cycles of history and what past generations can teach us about living through times of upheaval—with deep insights into the roles that Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials have to play—now with a new preface by Neil Howe. First comes a High, a period of confident expansion. Next comes an Awakening, a time of spiritual exploration and rebellion. Then comes an Unraveling, in which individualism triumphs over crumbling institutions. Last comes a Crisis—the Fourth Turning—when society passes through a great and perilous gate in history. William Strauss and Neil Howe will change the way you see the world—and your place in it. With blazing originality, The Fourth Turning illuminates the past, explains the present, and reimagines the future. Most remarkably, it offers an utterly persuasive prophecy about how America’s past will predict what comes next. Strauss and Howe base this vision on a provocative theory of American history. The authors look back five hundred years and uncover a distinct pattern: Modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting about the length of a long human life, each composed of four twenty-year eras—or “turnings”—that comprise history’s seasonal rhythm of growth, maturation, entropy, and rebirth. Illustrating this cycle through a brilliant analysis of the post–World War II period, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for this rendezvous with destiny.