Born a Foreigner: A Memoir of the American Presence in Asia

In this absorbing work, a thoughtful career diplomat provides a perceptive, sometimes controversial overview of the intense U.S. connection with East Asia in the twentieth century. Part memoir, part diplomatic history, Born a Foreigner traces Ambassador CrossOs personal odyssey as a boy born in Beijing to missionary parents, a teenager under the Japanese occupation of North China, a Japanese-speaking marine corps officer in WWII, and as a diplomat posted to sensitive areas around the world. Always, CrossOs assessments of U.S. policy and policymakers are reflective, fair, and judicious. CrossOs authoritative and invaluable account of his Vietnam experiences as chief of CORDS in I Corps (1967D1969) adds significantly to the literature on the Vietnam War. He provides unique detail on the Tet Offensive, the earlier negotiations on Laos, the Geneva Conference, and Averell HarrimanOs diplomatic style. Equally significant is his discussion of the pacification program in I-Corps. He describes the subtle interplay among the U.S. and Vietnamese military, the American civilian authorities and the Vietnamese people, and their varying attitudes toward each other and the war itself. Covering the long sweep of historical events in Asia from revolutionary China in the 1920s and 1930s to the full normalization of Sino-American diplomatic relations in 1979 and the aftermath in Taiwan, where he was the first director of the American Institute, CrossOs memoir will thoroughly interest anyone seeking an insiderOs view of U.S. relations with Asia.