2024 ACNSL Annual National Security Book Award

The American College of National Security Leaders announces its selection of Ambassador B. Lynn Pascoe as the 2024 awardee for its second annual book award for his book Dealing with Dragons, Bears, and Some Nice People Too: A Diplomatic Chronicle.

Ambassador Pascoe’s book was published by New Academia Publishing/VELLUM. A deeply personal account of his career in the Foreign Service in China, Indonesia, and the United Nations, this well-written, inspiring memoir will benefit historians and is a must read for those considering work in the diplomatic field.

The winner receives a cash award of $2000 as well as endorsement of the book by the College. ACNSL established the award to encourage the documentation and discussion of the interrelationship of diplomacy and military power in the practice of national security. In addition to the guidelines on a national security topic, the nominated books must have been written within the past year by an American author and published in America.

Finalists for the award included the following:

The retired generals, admirals, ambassadors, and national security executives of ACNSL congratulate Ambassador Pascoe as winner and the finalists for their literary achievement.

Dealing with Dragons, Bears, And Some Nice People Too: A Diplomatic Chronicle

Authored by: B. Lynn Pascoe

Published by: New Academia Publishing/VELLUM

This book is a candid insider's take on issues at the core of U.S. foreign policy. Lynn Pascoe writes about momentous events he participated in, giving historians and people interested in U.S. foreign policy a primary source and firsthand perspective on some of the most critical events of the times. He describes the dramatic changes in China, the Soviet Union/Russia, and Southeast and Central Asia and his efforts to invigorate the United Nations' management of conflicts around the world. Pascoe covers tensions in Beijing, the stalling of Kissinger's China diplomacy, the later establishment of formal diplomatic ties, and the fallout from the brutal 1989 Tiananmen Massacre. In the mid-1990s Pascoe led our pseudo-embassy in Taiwan as it developed its democracy, built a thriving economy during the island's "golden age," 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.

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About the Author

B. Lynn Pascoe held the position of United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs from March 2007 to July 2012. He was Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s chief adviser on global political issues and led the effort to make the UN more effective in conflict prevention. Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Pascoe served for almost forty years in the U.S. Foreign Service. He was U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia from October 2004 to February 2007. He had previously been Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the State Department (2001-04) as well as U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia (1999-2001) and U.S. Special Negotiator for Regional Conflicts in the former Soviet Union (1997-98.) From 1993 to 1996, he was Director of the American Institute in Taiwan. He also served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the East Asian and Pacific Bureau of the State Department (1992-93), Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing (1989-92), Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department of State (1986-88), and Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State (1976-78.) In addition, Mr. Pascoe held positions on the Soviet and China desks and has been posted to Moscow, Hong Kong and Bangkok, as well as to Beijing twice, Taipei, and Kuala Lumpur. He speaks Mandarin Chinese. Born in Missouri in 1943, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kansas and his Master of Arts from Columbia University. Mr. Pascoe and his wife, Diane, have two grown daughters and four grandchildren.