TO THE EMBASSY

In 1958, Joseph Verner Reed, who confesses to the propriety of checking his occupation as ""rich man"", took a voluntary post with the USIA in Paris that led to a later post as Special Assistant to the Ambassador, Amory Houghton. This briefing on his life in service is an object lesson in embassy existence, its protocol and practicalities, its great demands with intangible rewards. Mr. Reed brings to life the flurry and flavor of various cultural and social dealings in the name of America. Whether whipping up a reception for the Duke and Duchess of Windsor or dealing with the spectacle of the Versailles Ball which French society graced and an American perfumer made good, Mr. Reed is on his feet and dashing...to keep that next appointment. Intermittently, between energetic if elegant efforts to promote America, to the French, he pauses to ponder on the use of it all and on ""La Resistance -- the life blood, the very soul of France"". There is a dash of bitters in his words too about the State Department, on the use and treatment of staff and those not socially registered...High society in high-minded service for those who enjoy a show of the social whirl.