Bucharest Diary: Romania's Journey from Darkness to Light

by Alfred H. Moses

An insider's account of Romania's emergence from communism control In the 1970s American attorney Alfred H. Moses was approached on the streets of Bucharest by young Jews seeking help to emigrate to Israel. This became the author's mission until the communist regime fell in 1989. Before that Moses had met periodically with Romania's communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, to persuade him to allow increased Jewish emigration. This experience deepened Moses's interest in Romania―an interest that culminated in his serving as U.S. ambassador to the country from 1994 to 1997 during the Clinton administration. The ambassador's time of service in Romania came just a few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. During this period Romania faced economic paralysis and was still buried in the rubble of communism. Over the next three years Moses helped nurture Romania's nascent democratic institutions, promoted privatization of Romania's economy, and shepherded Romania on the path toward full integration with Western institutions. Through frequent press conferences, speeches, and writings in the Romanian and Western press and in his meetings with Romanian officials at the highest level, he stated in plain language the steps Romania needed to take before it could be accepted in the West as a free and democratic country. Bucharest An American Ambassador's Journey is filled with firsthand stories, including colorful anecdotes, of the diplomacy, both public and private, that helped Romania recover from four decades of communist rule and, eventually, become a member of both NATO and the European Union. Romania still struggles today with the consequences of its history, but it has reached many of its post-communist goals, which Ambassador Moses championed at a crucial time. This book will be of special interest to readers of history and public affairs―in particular those interested in Jewish life under communist rule in Eastern Europe and how the United States and its Western partners helped rebuild an important country devastated by communism.

Genres: Romania, History

394 pages, Hardcover

Published July 17, 2018

Reviews

[GoldGato · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a historical diary of the time spent by the author as the United States ambassador to Romania from 1994 to 1997. Until the demise of the Soviet Union, Romania was one of the Eastern Bloc countries, stuck behind the Iron Curtain for decades. Alfred H. Moses found himself having to negotiate the various issues with the Romanians as they transitioned from absolute tyranny through the delicate steps of democracy.

After the end of the Soviet Union and its Iron Curtain influence, Romania was the only Warsaw Pact country that experienced a violent overthrow of the government when the dictator, Ceaușescu, was captured and executed by an angry populace in 1989. With the demise of the Berlin Wall, each Eastern Bloc country started changing but Ceaușescu didn’t want to lose his power. After calling a mass rally to show support for himself, his so-called followers turned against him, causing him to flee. He and his wife were caught and handed over to the Romanian Army. They were quickly executed, with global television stations showing the dead bodies. The quick downfall of a tyrant who had ruled a hardline Communist country was a lesson in how not to overstay your forced welcome.

When the author first arrived in Romania, he discovered a threadbare country, worn down by decades of neglect and vast corruption. As he notes in his diary, it was a difficult job not only because Romanians had no idea of how to transition to a capitalist democracy but also because Alfred H. Moses was Jewish in a nation that had willingly sent its Jewish population to the Nazi death camps in WWII. As the American ambassador, he had to navigate through the different political parties while showing the newbie government how to be a free market nation. The ambassador did his best to prepare Romania to become a future member of both NATO and the European Union. Despite his frustrations (while he was an ambassador his wife was fighting cancer), the author developed a love for the Romanians and their country.

Romania is seductive. It draws you into its chamber, like the sirens beckoning Ulysses, with plaintive pleas and an apparent openness combined with expressions of sadness that appeal to the heart in ways that need to be experienced to be understood. The melancholy feeling it evokes is different from anything I experienced elsewhere in Eastern and Central Europe.

I’m not one for reading diaries in book form, so I approached the book with some trepidation. But it isn’t a diary, more of a travelogue combined with insider political acumen and history. Each chapter shows the progression of the author’s objective, which was to work with the new Romanian government while constantly giving them a push into the new world. He helped to lay down a future path which has certainly seemed to work. Romania is now a hub of high tech (but you’d never think that could happen while reading this book), although it still remains an enigma. Almost completed surrounded by Slavic-speaking nations (with the exception of Hungary), Romanians still proudly speak their historical language derived from classical Latin. And they still have those Carpathian Mountains and the mythical aura of Dracula.

Book Season = Winter (dreary villages)

[Ionut Iamandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Masivă, copertată, cu foi albe impecabile, cu prefața și Cuvîntul înainte pe post de cravată și ac de cravată bine asortate, Jurnal de București este o apariție elegantă în orice librărie sau tîrg de carte. Și asta pentru că așa e firesc să arate cartea scrisă de un diplomat, care în lumea oamenilor e canonul de etichetă prin excelență. Dar nu e vorba numai de formă, aici se potrivește și conținutul. Observațiile din cartea ambasadorului Alfred Moses sînt formulate deferent, logic și cursiv, exact ca un mesaj diplomatic care exprimă fix cît trebuie să exprime, nici mai mult, nici mai puțin. Poate că, în cazul autorului, se simte în mod particular influența profesiei, cea de avocat, în care, de asemenea, din cîteva zvîcniri precise, propozițiile trebuie să ajungă clare la urechea judecătorului.
Cronica integrală: https://dilemaveche.ro/sectiune/la-zi...

[Alex Broughton · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I did finish the book, that is more because I am an optimist than because it was a very good read. The topic (Romania) and the time period (the 1990s) are both of strong interest to me. However, the book really is not about Romania in the 1990s. The book is really about the author (The American Ambassador to Romania in the mid 1990s). The title of the book is very descriptive (Bucharest Diary), while the sub-title (Romania's Journey from Darkness to Light) is not descriptive at all. The book really is just a condensed version of the author's diary. The book consists of just a chronological list of what the ambassador was doing at various times, which inhibits the ability of the reader to follow the various topics of interest (e.g., foreign investment, Romanian nationalism, the quest for NATO membership, etc.)

[Jonathan Lipman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moses has been criticised a bit for being full of himself in this book - but I rather liked his account. It’s a detailed look at Romania’s recovery in the critical/seminal years post-89, and highly informative. It’s true American influence expressed through US Ambassador Moses is strong, and he’s not shy to highlight his own role - but then I have no doubt that’s the way it was. Rather this than that Romania had turned back toward Russia. Overriding impression from Moses’ account: the importance of connections. No surprises there, then.

[Émilie Weidl · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title of this book was really misleading. It was less of a book about Romania's progress, and more of a book about Alfred Moses's personal accomplishments. He also treated neoliberalism as synonymous with progress. Moses described how he essentially controlled Romania as the American Ambassador in Bucharest, then simultaneously said he, and the US, abstained from political domination there. He seemed oblivious to just how hegemonic America was at the time.

[Steven Bragg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extremely detailed account of the U.S. ambassador's activities in Romania. In essence, it shows the level of effort you need to delve into in order to be a first-class ambassador. He was exceedingly active in pursuing the interests of both the U.S. and Romania, and clearly did a great job in all respects. The only failing of the book is the extreme level of detail; however, you need it in order to see just how much work is involved.

[Andy Vavilov · Rating 2 out of 5]

Throughout the book I felt like the author empathised too much his influence, making it look like he was the actual leader of the country, while letting Romania s evolution on the second plane.
I finished the book only for the insights (the political leaders’s statements which I can t verify but, looking at the author’s biography I incline to think they’re truthful).
Overall this book wasn’t a pleasuring experience for me, the final rating is 2/5.

[Serban Matei · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a getting a Romanian perspective it is very important. The book it’s a very insightful review of the ups and downs of a very important period for the contemporary Romania. I’m not sure it’s about bragging here as seen by some. It’s a reality and times of that years can prove it. At least the witnesses of those years...

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ambassador Moses provides an informative and chronological account of his time in Bucharest. Large parts of the book are rather dry and occasionally Moses seems to enjoy patting himself on the back.

[Fernando · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Learned about the consul life but I was lookin gmore insights about the romanians everyday life.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, engaging read - highly recommend