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'International politics is a serious business. But, as Richard Woolcott shows in these witty reminiscences, the diplomatic world has more than its fair share of absurdity, and even high comedy.
'Required not only to sacrifice a settled home and family life in the service of their country, diplomats must also heroically offer up their livers to booze, their stomachs to endless official dinners, their integrity to dangerous liaisons and the weasel art of spin, and their sanity to the pomposity and weird protocols that are part and parcel of the international scene.
'Undiplomatic Activities is filled with anecdotes and tall tales from an extraordinary career that spanned the second half of the twentieth century: from junior diplomat in Cold War Moscow to secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra, via the capitals of Europe, Africa, Asia, the USA, and the United Nations.
'From the heady negotiations of global statecraft to the petty and labyrinthine politics of ministers and mandarins, join this ultimate insider on an hilarious and insightful tour of duty in the diplomatic world. (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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Launched by former Prime Minister Bob Hawke in Sydney during September 2007.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Undiplomatic Humour?
2007-2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January no. 297 2007-2008; (p. 39)
— Review of Undiplomatic Activities 2007 single work autobiography -
Rollicking Account of Crabs and Crocs
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 6-7 October 2007; (p. 28-29)
— Review of Undiplomatic Activities 2007 single work autobiography -
Humour: Four-Fifths of the Art of Diplomacy
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 29 September 2007; (p. 23)
— Review of Undiplomatic Activities 2007 single work autobiography
-
Humour: Four-Fifths of the Art of Diplomacy
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 29 September 2007; (p. 23)
— Review of Undiplomatic Activities 2007 single work autobiography -
Rollicking Account of Crabs and Crocs
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 6-7 October 2007; (p. 28-29)
— Review of Undiplomatic Activities 2007 single work autobiography -
Undiplomatic Humour?
2007-2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January no. 297 2007-2008; (p. 39)
— Review of Undiplomatic Activities 2007 single work autobiography