This book chronicles a family of diplomats who experienced the world in transition. Subjects of capricious fate, they forged a destiny as a family that overcame some of the most cataclysmic events of the twentieth century. Diplomats and Dreamers is a family biography that begins with the careers of the parents in 1887 and ends with the death of Nadejda Stancioff, their eldest child, in 1957. The context of historical developments in an uncertain period of European history highlights their lives. Members of the haute bourgeoisie, this accomplished family is noteworthy for an unflagging ability to survive and persist with success and grace. Furthermore, this book addresses issues of gender by using the careers of the Stancioff women as exemplars of how a woman could develop her life in an atmosphere of strict gender divisions in labor. The Stancioff women's way of fitting into the mainstream of elite society is yet another model of a new generation of women who stepped beyond the narrow expectations of what their gender could achieve. Based on unexplored, unpublished primary materials, this book enriches both women's history and European history.

" The Magic of Dreams: An American Diplomat's Journey relays the story of a retired American diplomat who served in the U.S. Foreign Service for forty-three years. Eleanor L. Akahloun shares a remarkable personal and professional journey from humble, yet inspiring beginnings in her tightly knit Cape Verdean American community in Massachusetts. Her firsthand account of working with the U.S. State Department provides a peek into her colorful adventures and valuable lessons learned from her travels across all seven continents. This book is an affirmation that dreams are magical, that there is beauty-- amidst challenges-- in chasing them. The memoir is written in a question-and-answer format, with a perfect blend of wit, intrigue, and light humor. The Magic of Dreams: An American Diplomat's Journey is a fascinating read that will leave the readers inspired. Fascinating Story about a Remarkable Woman, September 13, 2015 By M. E. Norris I thoroughly enjoyed reading Eleanor (Penny) Lopes Akahloun's memoir. It is a fascinating story about a remarkable woman. Ms. Akahloun, a Cape Verdean American, devoted 43 years of her life to serve as a career diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service. She joined the Foreign Service at a time when the institution lacked diversity among its diplomatic corp. She overcame tremendous odds through perseverance, hard work, and a positive outlook-- characteristics which would help her tackle challenges throughout her life. Ms. Akahloun is someone who believes that we all have the capacity to enjoy life to the fullest. Her story is inspiring without being corny or unreal. Anyone who reads her book will take heart, no matter what their race, creed, gender, or age. The format of the book is akin to a long interview. The author begins by relating her family background, including the astounding story of how her grandfather journeyed to America from Cape Verde. She also tells us about her parents, remarkable individuals who worked and loved hard, providing the author with a nurturing and disciplined environment. Most of the rest of her book is about her life and adventures in the various countries in which she lived and served. These included Morocco (where she met her husband), Uruguay, Kenya, and China. The author intersperses the story of her life with interesting information on the political and economic situation of the country in which she was posted as well as the U.S. foreign policy goals in the country. This makes for an enriching history lesson without bogging readers down in too much detail. I hope that many people will read Ms. Akahloun's story and will be as strengthened and nourished as I was in reading it. "

Role play takes your students from the mid-nineteenth century to the Cold War as you introduce ten historically based simulations in European history. Some topics include competing nineteenth-century "isms," the annual French Salon, the Kellogg Briand Pact, and the International Congress of Women. Each unit comes with a lesson plan, suggestions for a schedule, and background information that will contribute to the understanding of the time period in which the simulation takes place, In addition, discussion questions, extension activities, and primary source document analysis correspond to the Common Core standards of Reading, Speaking and Listening, and Writing.

A schoolteacher still reeling from the tragedies of the Great War and the influenza epidemic travels to the Middle East in this memorable and passionate novel “Marvelous . . . a stirring story of personal awakening set against the background of a crucial moment in modern history.”—The Washington Post Agnes Shanklin, a forty-year-old schoolteacher from Ohio, has come into a modest inheritance that allows her to take the trip of a lifetime to Egypt and the Holy Land. Arriving at the Semiramis Hotel just as the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference convenes, she is freed for the first time from her mother’s withering influence and finds herself being wooed by a handsome, mysterious German. At the same time, Agnes—with her plainspoken American opinions—is drawn into the company of Winston Churchill, T. E. Lawrence, and Lady Gertrude Bell, who will, in the space of a few days, redraw the world map to create the modern Middle East. As they change history, Agnes too will find her own life transformed forever. With prose as graceful and effortless as a seductive float down the Nile, Mary Doria Russell illuminates the long, rich history of the Middle East with a story that brilliantly elucidates today’s headlines.

Aleksandur Stamboliiski was one of the most original politicians of the 20th century. His tragedy was that he came to power at the end of the First World War in which Bulgaria had been defeated. It fell to him, therefore, to accept and apply the peace settlement. This created tensions between him and traditional Bulgarian nationalism, tensions which ended with his murder in 1923. The book will examine the origins of this traditional nationalism from the foundation of the Bulgarian state in 1878, and of the agrarian movement which came to represent the social aspirations of the majority of the peasant population. It will also illustrate Stamboliiski's rise to power and examine his ideology. Emphasis will be placed on how this ideology clashed with the monarchy, the military, and the nationalists. Stamboliiski's policies in the Balkan wars and the First World War will be described before the details of the 1919 peace settlement are examined. The implementation of those terms will then be discussed as will the coup of 1923. The legacy of the peace treaty in the inter-war period and of Stamboliiski's image in the years after his downfall will form the final section of the book.

This comprehensive overview of the history of Bulgaria covers events in this important Balkan nation from its 9th-century origins in the first Bulgarian Empire through the present day. Now an Eastern European leader in the fields of science and technology, a nation with impressive renewable energy production capabilities and an extensive communication infrastructure, as well as a top exporter of minerals and metals, Bulgaria has grown both economically and politically over the past two decades. The History of Bulgaria examines the country's development, describing its cultural, political, and social history and development over 13 centuries. The modern era is particularly emphasized, including Bulgaria's role in World War II, the long tenure of Communist leader Todor Zhivkov, the role of Aleksandur Stamboliiski and the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union, and the myriad changes in Bulgaria's post-Communist period. The author also highlights significant individuals in Bulgarian history, such as Dimitur Peshev, the Deputy Speaker whose actions saved 50,000 Jews from the Holocaust.