This book is part of an ongoing effort by editors Paul Sharp (political science, U. of Minnesota-Duluth) and Geoffrey Wiseman (international relations, U. of Southern California). Sharp is an academic, and Wiseman is a career diplomat who now teaches diplomatic skills. The editors began their effort because much government, academic, and popular attention was devoted to international relations, but almost none to diplomacy, which is the practical process by which international relations is carried out in peacetime. They note that the current US administration cares about diplomacy, and recent popular attention has been drawn to diplomacy by new developments like the WikiLeaks scandal. In the words of the editors, ?They revealed that there is a great deal more diplomatic activity carried out in the name of the American people than they realize.? This book is designed to look at American (US) diplomacy: what it is, what it does, and what it is doing now. Half the contributors are academics, half are working diplomats. The language is accessible for general readers. The book begins with essays on American diplomacy, its distinctive characteristics, and what makes it different from foreign policy. A few essays look at how the Obama administration has shifted diplomacy, and US-UN relationships. The rest of the book is a set of perspectives on how American diplomacy works, and what it is like to work in it, by American, Chinese, Iranian, and German diplomats. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)