Discipline + Enjoyment= Success

Finally back in school!

So the Foreign Service Test has a “suggested” reading list that’s about ten miles long. Look at this nonsense:

https://careers.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Suggested-Reading-List-Aug2013.pdf

So, this is what I’m actually hopefully planning to read by October in order to prepare. Let me know if there’s any recommendations out there for books on world history, politics, or international relations!

1. American Diplomats: The Foreign Service at Work by William D. Morgan and Charles Stuart

2. American Foreign Relations: A History by Thomas G. Paterson

3. Woman and the American Experience by N. Woloch

4. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson

5. International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond by Antony Best

6. Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson

7. Modern South Asia: History, Culture, and Political Economy by Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal

8. Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA by Steven Coll

9. The Arab Uprisings by James L. Gelvin

10. Understanding Contemporary Africa by April and Donald Gordon

11. Russia since 1980: Wrestling with Westernization by Steven Rosefielde and Stefan hedlund

12. Afghanistan from the Cold War through the War on Terror by Rubin Barnett

13. Central Asia: The Challenges of Independence by B. Rumer and S. Zhukov

14. Immigration and the Right to Stay by Joseph H Carens

15. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald T. Takaki

16. The shaping of Grand Strategy: Policy, Diplomacy, and War by Murray, Williamson, and Richard Hart

17. Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands by T. Morrison and W. Connway