In this first biography of Ellsworth Bunker (1894-1984), Howard
Schaffer traces the life of one of postwar America's foremost
diplomats from his formative years as a successful businessman and
lobbyist through a long career in international affairs.
Named ambassador to Argentina by Harry Truman in 1951, Bunker went
on to serve six more presidents as ambassador to Italy, India,
Nepal, and Vietnam and on special negotiating missions. A widely
recognized "hawk," Bunker helped shape U.S. policy in Vietnam
during his six-year Saigon posting. Using letters Bunker wrote to
his wife as well as recently declassified messages he exchanged
with Henry Kissinger, Schaffer examines how Bunker promoted the war
effort and how he regarded his mission. After leaving Saigon on his
seventy-ninth birthday, Bunker next became a key figure in the
treaty negotiations, spanning three presidencies, that radically
changed the operation and defense of the Panama Canal.
Highlighting Bunker's views on the craft of diplomacy, Schaffer
paints a complex picture of a man who devoted three decades to
international affairs and sheds new light on post-World War II
American diplomacy.
This book is part of the ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Series,
co-sponsored by the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training
in Arlington, Virginia, and Diplomatic & Consular Officers,
Retired, Inc., of Washington, D.C.