Book Review: Arts of Power: Statecraft and Diplomacy by Chas W Freeman, Jr

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IP is over the quota

Arts of Power: Statecraft and Diplomacy is a book about the diplomat's weapon and the knack of managing a state's relationship with other states- issues as old as recorded time. In this comprehensive treatise, the author outlines the basic tenets the art of statecraft and the skills of diplomatic rhetoric.

Using his experience as a foreign diplomat and his knowledge of many nations, as a backdrop, Charles Freeman provides a detailed roadmap to successful negotiation. He discusses the roles of politics, culture, intelligence gathering, military measures and economic power, as well as the art and rhetoric of diplomatic statecraft as applied under international law.

Arts of Power is a thesis on negotiation, the diplomat's weapon. The author describes the usefulness of the applications of force and intelligence to international relations. He emphasizes the nuts and bolts of statecraft, the practical side of a diplomat's job and the application of a code of ethics to international law.

In the first part of the book, Freeman discusses intelligence gathering, covert activities, power, political influences, cultural measures, economic measures of the states, military tactics and non-violence, as well as changes in the international state system, the international order, the interests of other states, and the constant evolution of international law as part of the interests and concerns of a nation.

In the second section, the author progresses to the importance of negotiation, the diplomat's weapon, and the strategies, tactics and manoeuvres, as well as the relationship between the states and why and how diplomats are used. He talks about the traditions of the international system and the reordering of relations between states during peacetime.

The third portion of the book involves a description of the job of a diplomat and the importance of diplomatic rhetoric, advocacy and stewardship. Freeman also discusses the fact that states have different cultures, traditions, and historical experience and how they must bridge these differences in order to function under an international state system. This is a powerful book, easily one of the most comprehensive guides to the art of statecraft in existence today. It is an interesting read because it offers professionals and non-professionals alike an important guide to understanding diplomacy and international ethics. It is a valuable guide for the professional diplomat, an informative manual for students, and even the non-diplomat reader who wants to the secrets of power.

There have been a few other books written on this subject. Arts of Power provides a bridge to fill in the gaps between the few available works on this topic. It is different because it is written by a real diplomat, an ambassador tasked with maintaining peace at all costs.

2011 Moira G Gallaga?

Recently resigned civil servant from the Philippine Foreign Service. Specializes in Protocol and served 3 Philippine Presidents as Presidential Protocol Officer. Assigned along with her diplomat husband and son in Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles and Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. for 6 and a half years.

Maphead - Book Review

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AppId is over the quota

Today, there's a subculture for everything. If you like white ponies, then you're part of that subculture and if you like pugs, you are a member of pug-lovers subculture. There is one culture, though, that has facets of not only being a subculture, but also culture, as well, and that is the map culture.

There are those people out there, such as Ken Jennings, who consider maps the Holy Grail. Maphead is the map to that Holy Grail. Mapping has facets that cut across all parts of just about every culture and subculture you can find because of one simple fact: you have to know where you are.

Whether you use GPS via your laptop, smartphone, Garmin or TomTom or whether you are into Google Earth mapping or just love to look at the directions to a place and back again on Mapquest or on the older "Road Guides" that many people keep in their cars, along with their TomToms and Nav systems, "just in case," then you're probably a maphead too.

Ken Jennings is probably the biggest Maphead around as he became legendary for his geographic and mapping knowledge on the long-running TV information show "Jeopardy." So, who is better placed to tell the story of the real mapheads of the world.

They are people who read maps for the fun of it. For example, there was a gentleman who lived in New England some years ago who, for pleasure, was always seen with an ancient copy of the Atlas of the late British Empire. He could cite names, places, routes and more and knew just about every plate in that huge (it was at least 12 by 14 with 400-velum pages and maps of every description, plus the description of the areas -- at that time and it must have weighed nearly 30 pounds with it gorgeous leather and gold leaf binding). The same gentleman, by the way, read the entire "Encyclopedia Britannica" twice for fun, always stopping at the maps along the way.

In essence, he was an early Jennings, who did this not because he had to, but because he loved it.

There are countless men and women out there who love nothing more than poring over maps just to see what they look like and where they may be going, using them for more than the usual "where are we lost now?" that every passenger seems to ask every driver on the road when they reach areas they aren't familiar with. Usually, the same person takes the map book -- eschewing the GPS or Nav -- in hand to rectify the situation and in most cases they do, sometimes outracing the computer/satellite system.

Mapheads come in all shapes and sizes and have been with us through the ages. For example, you'll find examples in "Maphead" of the maps that ancient mariners used that had phantasmic dragons and sea serpents drawn on them for areas that were unexplored. And, for many, the world began at the coast and ended at the horizon, so that ancient maps were studies in narrow looks at areas. Yet, there were those who knew those maps by rote and could recite the routes to take or towns and villages along the way.

Mapping as a culture continues today as the National Geographic holds its mapping bees and future little mapping masters strut their stuff. Some of the youngsters are brilliant.

Which brings us back to the author whose work on "Jeopardy" is still the stuff of TV legend. He was able to have his encyclopedic knowledge because, he notes, he went to bed and woke up with a huge volume of the world Atlas as his daily routine. One could almost call it a fetish if it wasn't so widespread and necessary because like it or not we are all slaves to directions and mapping. One person may use Mapquest to find all possible routes and times from here to there and back again and then pick up the local copy of the mapbook to find the same information. Mapheads come in all sizes, shapes, ages, ethnicities, sexes and any other pigeonhole you care to put around them.

Yet, at the bottom of it all, the "they" in this is actually us. Just look at yourself, the next time you're taking a trip somewhere and we'll bet you're consulting Google Earth or Mapquest to program your Garmin or TomTom or car's Nav system so you'll get where you are going. We're all Mapheads whether we know it or not.

Roberto Sedycias works as an IT consultant for ecommUS-Books

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Summary

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IP is over the quota

Henrietta Lacks was an African American migrant in Baltimore, a mother of five, who met with unfortunate death at an young age of 30 in 1951 due to cervical cancer.

The book 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' by Rebecca Skloot is an honest and moving story of Henrietta Lacks.

During the treatment of Lacks, before her death, her doctor took medical samples of cancerous cells from her body. They were safely kept in the Lab where the tests were done. Normally taking cells for analysis during treatment is not uncommon but such cells can't live longer. But the cells of Henrietta Lacks not only survived beyond her death, but also got multiplied in millions in the lab environment.

During subsequent years, the cells of Lacks got distributed to various colleges and laboratories for the purpose of research and learning and these cells are called HeLa Cells, derived from the name of Henrietta Lacks. By estimate, the developed cells across the world would weigh 50 metric tonnes compared to her small fragile body.

HeLa cells helped medical scientists discover the nature of various diseases and also helped in finding out vaccines and medicines for polio, cancer, fertility and many more. Obviously the HeLa cells became a boon for great developments in medical sciences.

However the family of Henrietta Lacks was not aware of the existence of theses cells and their vast distribution across the globe. They came to know about this much later, and they were angry and resentful over the whole development. The family remained poor despite the fact that they were indirectly helpful for many medical innovations. The author of the book Rebecca Skloot, who is a science writer, met Lacks' family, while investigating the background of HeLa Cells. She helped the family, won their trust and had many conversations with them. She worked for a whole decade with the Lack's family and came out with a complete and true account of Henrietta Lacks life story.

This is not just a life story that gives inspiration but also raises questions on various matters related to medicine, race, ethics and many more. Is it right for doctors to take Lacks' cells without her consent? Should they not have compensated their family when the cells were extensively used for various medical discoveries?

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks has been selected as one of the best books of Amazon during February 2010.

Alan Ball along with HBO team and Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films combined together to make a film based on this book. The book is also being translated in to twenty languages.

The contribution of HeLa cells to medical science is immense and Henrietta Lacks has become immortal through this book by Rebecca Skloot.

minso is a web-writer interested in various topics such as spirituality, health and books.
Check information about similar books at Inspirational Books For Women and Best Inspirational Books