AFSA Highly Recommended Titles

Foreign Affairs Professional Reading List

Highly Recommended Titles

Berridge, G. R. Diplomacy: Theory and Practice. 3rd Ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2005. An up-to-date treatment of foreign ministries, the art of negotiation, and modes of diplomacy by a leading scholar. [JZ1405.B475 2002]

Freeman, Chas. Arts of Power: Statecraft and Diplomacy. Washington, D.C.: US Institute of Peace, 1997. A thought-provoking manual for the professional diplomat that provides an outline and introduction to diplomatic thought and practice. [JZ1305.F74]

Ross, Dennis. Statecraft: And How to Restore America's Standing in the World. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2007. The long-time U.S. Middle East negotiator provides insights on diplomacy and negotiation.

Ferguson , Niall. Colossus: The Price of America's Empire. New York: Penguin Press, 2004. A provocative work examining the historical hesitation of the United States - the most powerful empire in history - to be classified as an empire. [JZ1480.F47 2004]

Haass, Richard. The Opportunity: America's Moment to Alter History's Course. New York: Public Affairs, 2005. The former Director of Policy Planning at the State Department and current President of the Council on Foreign Relations describes the challenges and opportunities facing the United States at the beginning of the 21st century in trying to create a more secure, free and prosperous world. [E902.H22 2005]

Mead, Walter Russell. Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001. A history of American foreign policy and its influence on the world. [E183.7.M52]

Nye, Joseph. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affairs, 2004. Makes the case for using the “soft power” of U.S. public diplomacy aboard. [JZ1480.N94 2004]

Kagan, Robert. Dangerous Nation. New York: Knopf, 2006. [E183.7.K34 2006] (Alternate choice: The Return of History and the End of Dreams. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. Addresses the challenges and questions confronting the modern-day liberal democratic world, from the competition among powerful nations to the violent struggle of radical Islam, and calls for a new approach on the part of the liberal world to shape the future. [D860.K34 2008]

Hunt, Michael H., The American Ascendancy: How the United States Gained & Wielded Global Dominance. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007. An author of numerous studies of U.S. diplomacy charts America's rise to power from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to its position of dominance. [Pre-order Status]

Armstrong, Karen. Islam: A Short History. New York: Modern Library, 2002. The concise summation of years of thinking and writing about the world's fastest growing religion. [BP50.A69]

Friedman, Thomas L. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. [HM846.F74 2005]

Sachs, Jeffrey. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for our Time. New York: Penguin Press, 2005. [HC59.72 P6 S225 2005] {Alternate choice: Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet. New York: Penguin Press, 2008. [HD87.S23 2008]

Kennedy, Paul. The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000. New York: Random House, 1987. A seminal work about the dangers of imperial overstretch. [D210.K46]

Gaddis, John Louis. The Cold War: A New History. Minneapolis, MN: HighBridge Co. 2005. An excellent analysis of the central issues of the Cold War that summarizes the major and many minor events of that era. [D843.G22 2005]

Priest, Dana. The Mission: Waging War and Keeping Peace with America's Military. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2004. A noted Washington Post reporter’s path-breaking examination of the growing militarization of diplomacy. [UA23.P748 2003]

Kissinger, Henry. Diplomacy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. A readable yet scholarly insider's perspective on critical developments during the Cold War. [JX1662.K57]

Noteworthy, but currently Out of Print

Nicolson, Harold. Diplomacy. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1939. A classic work that explores the origins of diplomacy, its development, basic diplomatic practices, and the personal qualities required of successful diplomats. [JX1662.N51 1988*] (out of print)

Stuart, Graham. The Department of State; A History of its Organization, Procedure, and Personnel. New York: Macmillan Co., 1949. [JK853.S8] Highly recommended general history of the Department. (out of print)

Neustadt, Richard E. and Ernest R. May. Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision-Makers. New York: Free Press, 1986. [E743.N378] (out of print)

Kennan, George. Memoirs 1925-1950. New York: Random House, Inc. 1983. This book by one of America’s most influential diplomats brings to life major events of U.S. diplomatic history of his era. [E748.K38 A3] (out of print)