Practicing Public Diplomacy: A Cold War Odyssey

Yale Richmond

Feb 2008 · Explorations in Culture and International History Book 5 · Berghahn Books

About this ebook

There is much discussion these days about public diplomacy—communicating directly with the people of other countries rather than through their diplomats—but little information about what it actually entails. This book does exactly that by detailing the doings of a US Foreign Service cultural officer in five hot spots of the Cold War - Germany, Laos, Poland, Austria, and the Soviet Union - as well as service in Washington DC with the State Department, the Helsinki Commission of the US Congress, and the National Endowment for Democracy. Part history, part memoir, it takes readers into the trenches of the Cold War and demonstrates what public diplomacy can do. It also provides examples of what could be done today in countries where anti-Americanism runs high.

About the author

Yale Richmond (1923-2020), was a retired cultural officer in the US Foreign Service. He practiced public diplomacy for thirty years, including postings abroad in Germany, Laos, Poland, Austria (Vienna), and the Soviet Union. A specialist in intercultural communication, his books have been translated and published in China and Korea.