Paying Calls in Shangri-La: Scenes from a Woman’s Life in American Diplomacy
About this ebook
Heimann’s lively recollections of her life in Africa, Asia, and Europe show us that when it comes to reconciling our government’s requirements with the other government’s wants, shuttle diplomacy, Skype, and email cannot match on-the-ground interaction. The ability to gauge and finesse gesture, tone of voice, and unspoken assumptions became her stock-in-trade as she navigated, time and again, remarkably delicate situations.
This insightful and witty memoir gives us a behind-the-scenes look at a rarely explored experience: that of one of the very first married female diplomats, who played an unsung but significant role in some of the important international events of the past fifty years. To those who know something of today’s world of diplomacy, Paying Calls in Shangri-La will be an enlightening tour through the way it used to be—and for aspiring Foreign Service officers and students, it will be an inspiration.
Published in association with ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Series
About the author
Judith M. Heimann has spent most of her life involved with American diplomacy. She has written widely on Southeast Asia and the Pacific. She is the author of The Most Offending Soul Alive and The Airmen and the Headhunters, and coauthor of the award-winning PBS documentary based on the latter.
