"Inside a U.S. Embassy" is a great start in learning more about the Foreign Service, focusing on the individuals who serve the United States from abroad. It covers a diverse group of people and is quite easy to read. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 consists of profiles of Foreign Service employees in "each type of position in a typical U.S. embassy," including Ambassador, Political Officer, Consular Officer, Office Management Specialist, and Foreign Service National. The profiles included are of both men and women who have served in different parts of the world. However, like a previous reviewer, I wonder if they could have chosen to do a profile of a Junior Officer that is more consistent with what Junior Officers are expected to do. She didn't seem so "junior" to me! Part 2 consists of one-day hour-by-hour journals from embassy staff around the world. I liked the fact that they included the journal of a Foreign Service spouse, since families also play a large role in the Foreign Service. The most personal, and fascinating, part was Part 3, which has "tales from the field" from Foreign Service staff with experiences including the evacuation of an embassy (Pakistan), the assassination of an ambassador (Afghanistan), a coup (Guinea-Bissau), and organizing a Little League in the Ukraine. Also included in the book are a map of Department of State locations and a list of foreign affairs and Foreign Service resources.
Being curious about what the Public Diplomacy section does, I was a little confused about finding the term "Public Diplomacy" in only one place in the book (in the "Embassy Flow Chart") and instead finding a profile of a "Public Affairs Officer." While I'm assuming a Public Affairs Officer works in the Public Diplomacy section, what's the difference between a Public Affairs Officer and a Public Diplomacy Officer (a term used on the Department of State website). A minor gripe.
Also, I would have found a general introduction to the structure of an embassy (i.e. a description of the different sections - Consular, Economic, Political, Public Diplomacy, and Administrative) really useful. On the cover of the book, it says "How the Foreign Service Works for America." I'm quite satisfied with the profiles and comments from actual Foreign Service Officers and Foreign Service Specialists; however, I think that in order to get a better picture of what they do, we should be informed about the structure of the organization they work for and how they got their start.
