Dear all,
I hope it is ok to past this here, I would really appreciate if you could help me. I am trying to make a gift to my girlfriend who studies History and dreams about becoming a diplomat. I'm trying to get her some really nice books about the History of Diplomacy as well as some famous diplomats.
I already bought Kissinger's Diplomacy and World Order and I found this list containing, among others, Guns, germs, and steel, which this subreddit doesn't seem to like.
My question is: do you have any recommendations? I was thinking about a biography of Talleyrand maybe?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Garrett Mattingly's History of Renaissance Diplomacy is kind of old, but the essential narrative is still pretty solid. It's very useful for understanding how Italy came to realize full-time ambassadors in residence ( as opposed to temporary diplomatic missions) were a handy thing, as a result of their chaotic wars and alliances.
If you're girlfriend is wanting to work as a diplomat, I think she would really enjoy David Milne's new book Worldmaking: The Art and Science of American Diplomacy, which provides a general history of US foreign policy but also discusses how various key American diplomats theorized diplomacy.
There's also George Herring's massive From Colony to Superpower which is, I think, the best synthesis on the history of US foreign relations. Its a quick read despite its size because Herring writes so well.
The Congress of Vienna, a study in allied unity - by Sir Harold Nicholson is an excellent book. Not just limited to diplomacy so may not be right up your street but it covers alot of in-depth knowledge about the diplomacy and political backstabbing behind the scenes needed in order to restore order to Europe