This book is a realistic view of the glamorous and not so glamourous sides of the foreign service. It shows the beholdenness to politicians of a career FSO. An easy read, it also puts ambition into perspective by showing the tradegies of the author, which I felt was the chief lesson learned from the book. People who desire foreign service careers should definitely read the book. The lessons of a past ambassador are invaluble to those who aspire to the same goal.