Dealing Dragons, Bears and Some Nice People Too: a Diplomatic Chronicle

Dealing with Dragons, Bears, and Some Nice People Too is a candid take on issues at the core of U.S. foreign policy. Amb. Pascoe Amb. Pascoe recounts events moments from his distinguished career, giving people interested in U.S. foreign policy a primary source and firsthand perspective on critical events of the times. It’s the story of one U.S. diplomat’s involvement over 45 years with changes in China, the Soviet Union/Russia and Southeast and Central Asia, as well as his efforts to invigorate the United Nations’ management of conflicts around the world.

Amb. Pascoe covers tensions in Beijing, the stalling of Kissinger’s China diplomacy, the later establishment of formal diplomatic ties, and the fallout from the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre. In the 1990s, Amb. Pascoe led the U.S. pseudo-embassy in Taiwan as it developed its democracy, built its economy, and weathered a serious missile threat from Beijing. He analyzes the U.S.-Soviet conflicts in the eighties and the transformation of the relationship after Gorbachev’s rise to power.

In 2004, Amb. Pascoe led the U.S. efforts to help alleviate the tragedy following the tsunami that killed over 170,000 people in Indonesia’s Aceh Province. In retirement, he assumed the high-profile job of Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs at the UN. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon tasked him to transform the UN’s Political Department into the leading actor easing local conflicts around the world. He recounts in frank detail the successes and failures of the new approach.