The Foreign Service Journal, January 2004

benefit from intelligent analysis and thoughtful, constructive criticism — but not the hostile, baseless drivel Mowbray serves up here. An FSO from 1956 to 1989, Edward Peck served in Gothenburg, Tangier, Tunis, Oran, and Cairo, and was chief of mission in Baghdad and Nouak- chott. In Washington, he worked in State, DOD and the White House, and had extensive experience in intera- gency intelligence coordination. A Rivkin Award winner, he is a longtime member of AFSA’s Awards Committee and a lecturer at FSI for A-100 and other courses on “Advocacy and Dissent.” America’s Best-Kept Secret Voice of America: A History Alan L. Heil, Jr., Columbia University Press, 2003, $37.50, hardcover, 538 pages R EVIEWED BY S TEVEN A LAN H ONLEY Given that this issue of the Foreign Service Journal has focused on U.S. overseas broadcasting, it seemed only fitting to conclude our coverage by reviewing Alan L. Heil Jr.’s Voice of America: A History , the first compre- hensive history of the VOA since the mid-1980s. Heil worked for VOA from 1962 until he retired in 1998, holding vari- ous positions including foreign corre- spondent, chief of news and current affairs and deputy director of pro- grams. The resulting familiarity with both the nitty-gritty and the larger issues surrounding “the Voice,” as VOA is commonly known, does much to make the story come alive, as do the anecdotes and transcripts of radio broadcasts he intersperses throughout the narrative. He opens his account with a look at how VOA witnessed and covered the dramatic developments in China dur- ing the spring of 1989, before step- ping back to the agency’s founding in the grim months after Pearl Harbor. That pattern of alternating “thematic” and “chronological” chapters contin- ues throughout the book, and proves quite effective in conveying the sweep of the agency’s history. Yet despite the wide variety of sto- ries VOA has reported (or sometimes been the focus of) over the past 60 years, certain policy debates have been waged virtually nonstop. Most fundamentally, is VOA primarily a vehicle for expressing U.S. govern- ment views, or for reporting the news without worrying about how it may make America look to the rest of the world? Heil’s sympathies are clearly with those who fiercely defend VOA’s independence and adherence to jour- nalistic canons, even when bending to political pressures might be more prudent. But he is careful to give the other side of the issue its due, as well, and to acknowledge that there are times when the line dividing the two roles moves and becomes blurry. Heil repeatedly rebuts the stereo- type some of VOA’s critics — and even some proponents — have articu- lated, that the agency is just a Cold War relic. He notes that the agency very nearly was abolished a decade ago because of that misperception, and sheds some light on the desperate campaign to keep it not only function- ing but thriving in the new millenni- um. But substantive as the narrative is, it also contains plenty of human interest, including some charming and even hilarious stories about VOA personalities and listeners. A chapter on the Voice’s musical offer- ings pays homage to longtime jazz host Willis Conover but goes on to cite many other hosts who have helped show the rest of the world America’s multifaceted cultural tapestry. The book does have some short- comings. The author’s modesty about his own role in VOA’s history is commendable, but the few personal anecdotes he shares leave the reader wanting more. And although he repeatedly alludes to interagency struggles with State and other enti- ties over broadcasting content, he never really explains the process of how VOA’s editorials are put togeth- er, for example. (In fact, neither that topic, the Foreign Service, or the State Department rates a citation in the index.) Conversely, there is also some padding; for example, one chapter near the end, “Yearning to Breathe Free: Tales of Great VOA Escapes,” is clearly heartfelt but could have been shortened or even omitted. Nevertheless, this is a valuable account that deserves a wide reader- ship, both within the Foreign Service and among the general public. n Steven Alan Honley is the editor of the Journal . J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 71 B O O K S u Heil’s sympathies are clearly with those who fiercely defend VOA’s independence.