Ellsworth Bunker: Global Troubleshooter, Vietnam Hawk

“Combines solid research and a nuanced understanding of diplomatic history. . . . Shaffer’s treatment of Bunker is balanced and fair and sheds historical light on the dark corners of mid-level American diplomacy in the latter half of the twentieth century.” — Journal of Cold War Studies

“Bunker becomes an essential study for scholars of the U.S. experience in Vietnam, as well as of the events that swirled around it.” — CHOICE

“In Schaffer’s sympathetic but balanced biography, [Bunker] emerges with his reputation intact as one of the finest US diplomats of his generation.” — International Historical Review

“Readers will find the book provides a detailed survey of an exemplary life that also illuminates important developments in post-World War II diplomacy. Well-written, with extensive notes, bibliography and index, and illustrated with significant family and official photographs, Ellsworth Bunker brings fresh insights into U.S. history.” — Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

“I count myself fortunate to have worked with Ellsworth Bunker, not only on our efforts to bring an end to the Vietnam War but also on our Panama Canal negotiations and the Mideast Shuttles. He was one of our country’s great diplomats and carried out the heavy responsibilities entrusted to him with gentleness, discipline, and selfless skill. Schaffer’s insightful and carefully researched biography of this quintessentially American figure fills an important gap in our understanding.” ― Henry Kissinger

“Schaffer’s first-rate relation of Ellsworth Bunker’s life in and contribution to American diplomacy will fascinate all those with an interest in this country’s premier diplomat of the twentieth century. Bunker was, most unusually, a breathtakingly effective global troubleshooter in the Yemen, Dominican Republic and New Guinea (West Irian) crises; a key negotiator of the Panama Canal Treaties; a successful Ambassador to Argentina, Italy and India; and, perhaps most importantly, a quiet, gentle but convinced ”hawk“ for almost six years as Ambassador at Saigon. Schaffer tells the story lucidly and with grace and objectivity ― not an easy job with a man this big.” ― The Honorable Thomas R. Pickering, Career Ambassador, United States Foreign Service

“Ellsworth Bunker was a remarkable diplomat with superb negotiating skills who served American presidents in sensitive assignments for nearly thirty years. He had the personal qualities of the ideal ambassador: he inspired trust all around and was known for his evenhandedness. . . . Howard Schaffer has performed a great service by writing this splendid biography. The book is both thorough and readable, and it should be required reading from now on by students of diplomacy of whatever nationality.” ― Ambler H. Moss Jr., Director, Dante B. Fascell North-South Center, University of Miami

“Schaffer’s biography of Ellsworth Bunker is an incisive, well-written, carefully researched, and briskly paced examination of a singularly significant diplomatic figure and the various diplomatic wrangles in which he was involved.” ― Robert McMahon, University of Florida

“Schaffer’s biography of Ellsworth Bunker is an incisive, well-written, carefully researched, and briskly paced examination of a singularly significant diplomatic figure and the various diplomatic wrangles in which he was involved.” — Robert McMahon, University of Florida