Around the World in 100 Years: Dispatches from Institute of Current Affairs

On the morning of December 17, I left Nanking aboard a C-47 bound for Beijing. None of the 13 persons aboard the plane knew whether or not we would be able to land at our destination. Four days previously, the Communist Army had opened an attack on the city. The west airfield was known to be out of commission. The south field was reported to be under fire from Communist artillery, and Red troops were said to be closing in everywhere around the city. We crossed our fingers and hoped it would be possible to land, and fortunately it was.So the renowned China scholar Doak Barnett begins his eyewitness reporting about the Communist siege of Beijing in 1948 as a fellow of the Institute of Current World Affairs. From his gripping accounts to diplomat and India expert Phillips Talbot's conversations with Gandhi, to journalist Nick Schmidle's descriptions of one of the most notorious radical clerics in Pakistan after September 11, to deeply personal stories about life in post-apartheid South Africa, earthquake devastation in Haiti and moving stories about adventures and encounters around the world, this collection of writing provides insight into 100 years of global developments. Readers will find the stories riveting, poignant and illuminating.Founded in 1925, the Institute of Current World Affairs has advanced understanding of global cultures and affairs by sending outstanding young professionals on fellowships abroad to gain deep understanding of countries, regions and globally important issues. Many have become leading experts. ICWA fosters the kind of insight needed to ensure that America's role in the world is informed by wisdom, foresight and compassion.This anthology presents poignant excerpts from a century of dispatches by institute fellows that reflect their extraordinary achievements while living among and writing about global societies. The passages are remarkable snapshots of their journeys and storied careers. Some are included for their keen storytelling, others for eyewitness accounts of historically important developments, still others for lyrical descriptions that make people and places come alive.In addition to their descriptions of international cultures and affairs, written from the perspective of deep immersion, some of these pages point to where the United States deepened problems and otherwise fell short in its stated goals. Others raise eternal questions still being asked, while still more reflect telling views from different eras. Taken together, they describe a rainbow of humanity, the kaleidoscope of our commonalities and differences.