FAREWELL TO FOGGY BOTTOM

by Ellis Briggs ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 30, 1964

When a better madhouse is built, the American ambassador is likely to be the first to seek asylum in it."" This is not the quip of a jaundiced man but of a career diplomat referring to Foggy Bottom, i.e. the U.S. Department of State. Mr. Briggs here summarizes his reflections on his experiences as an ambassador to seven countries, during which time he held seventeen posts during thirty-seven years of service. His opinions are brilliantly acidic. He holds, for instance, no brief for the Peace Corps, the United Nations, the Alliance for Progress, AID (Agency for International Development), and is skeptical of the United States Information Agency. Workers for these agencies (not the U.N.) he classifies as ""inhabitants of the Handout Empire and Propaganda Establishment."" One of his most interesting stories concerns his efforts to get American newsman William Oatis released from a Czech prison which cost the Czechs $50 million. His main criticism of the State Department is that the rank of ambassador has lost its prestige and that ambassadors have too little authority with too much backseat driving from the Sates...Mr. Briggs has a flair for comic pedantry and of course there is always an audience for the lowdown on higher ups, viz. the recent success of the book which uncloaked with a dagger The Invisible Government.

Pub Date: Oct. 30, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: McKay

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION