|
|
|
|
|
|
HomeShop at BookSurgeBiography & AutobiographyPersonal MemoirsEncounters: A Lifetime Spent Crossing Cultural Frontiers |
|
|  |
| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 8 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
A Really Good Read Jan 05, 2010
By Harold T. Mason
Nancy Forster's "Encounters" is one of the rare books that leaves the reader feeling satisfied about a good read and with much to think about. This is not simply a listing of Clifton Forster's diplomatic career, but a participation in the events of the last half of the 20th century. Filled with first hand accounts of living a privileged life in colonial Manila, through the years of Japanese internment, to a multitude of foreign service assignments, Cliff Forster comes through as a spokesman for people-to-people diplomacy and an activist for peace through understanding and education. He spread his message to world leaders as well as to peasant villagers. Encounters, with the famous and the unfamous, throughout some fifty years, were shared by Nancy who became an international educator herself while raising a family in a series of foreign postings. Finally this book shows us that there have been good people devoting their lives to promote a better world for some and hopefully peace for us all.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A teacher's delight! Mar 08, 2010
By Lisa J. Howard
"Lisa Howard"
As a World History teacher I was excited to find a new resource dealing with Asia from WWII to the present. Encounters provides fresh details about world events from an American's perspective while living abroad beginning pre-WWII in the Philippines. The intriguing life of Clifton Forster is revealed as he becomes a Japanese POW, returns to the U.S. to enlist in the military, and eventually works in many Asian countries throughout the Cold War as part of the foreign service. This book is full of historical information that teachers can readily use as part of their curriculum to bring a human face to the events of this time period in Asia. Encounters is extremely useful because it is not a mere reflection of a time gone by, but an accounting of events as they took place.
I love personal stories and this one from Clifton Forster and his wife, Nancy, is tremendous in its power to help students identify with people working in foreign lands with locals while personally struggling to adapt to local customs and meeting the needs of those around them. Encounters is a wonderful read and resource for my classroom that I highly recommend for all.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
"Encounters" - a fascinating story of diplomatic life. Mar 07, 2010
By Karen Litvinchuk
This is an intriguing and compelling story of Clifton Forster's life as impacted by world events of the 20th Century. His diplomatic eyes gave me a more international perspective and insight into events that happened during my lifetime. This book also speaks to a much wider audience than those who love history - it is a moving human story of Clifton's quest for understanding and his ability to forgive. It is also a powerful woman's story of Nancy, Clifton's strong and intelligent partner setting up households, raising a family, and establishing her own career in many different cultures. Definitely a five star read!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Encounters Feb 27, 2010
By Michael A. Ebert
Encounters is not a memoir; it is a first hand historical account of a slice of time that is a block in the foundation of globalization for select locations of Asia.
Factually it is the eyewitness testimony, mostly recorded in real time, by a dedicated young couple with privileged education and talent. An extraordinary man and woman raising a family with the globe as their backyard.
I bought this book to learn of the Diplomatic Corp. What I actually purchased was an account so well scribed I can say, "I was there".
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A must-read for history buffs Mar 05, 2010
By Eveline P. Bourgeois
Nancy Forster illuminates the real behind the scenes lives of an American family tirelessly dedicated to the service of others abroad and promoting good will among diverse nations. This journal of her late husband Clifford Forster's Foreign Service career and her own participation is riveting. I was transported to a world not even hinted at in my history books. They influenced history; they lived it intensely. We are fortunate that this capsule of history has been preserved in such a well-written narrative.
See all 8 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
