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According to the list:
"Foreign Service Officers must be well-informed and knowledgeable across many
disciplines: current world and national affairs, economics, history, public affairs, and
management, among others. And, since Foreign Service Officers represent the
United States to the world, they must also possess an insightful understanding of
American society and culture. This breadth of knowledge is usually gathered
gradually over time. The best foundation is a solid education and a personal life-habit
of reading, learning, and expanding one’s understanding of the world.

Given this breadth, it is difficult to provide a definitive reading list that will prepare a
person for the Foreign Service selection process, and for a Foreign Service career.
Nonetheless, the reading list below illustrates the kinds of books and readings that
can set you in the right direction. "

I'm adding all the books officially recommended initially-if anyone wants to add others, go for it!

[Source: http://careers.state.gov/resources/su... ]
1

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4.08 avg rating — 68,061 ratings
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3.96 avg rating — 632,953 ratings
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4.09 avg rating — 275,859 ratings
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4.18 avg rating — 88,607 ratings
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4.16 avg rating — 657 ratings
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4.38 avg rating — 14,367 ratings
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4.40 avg rating — 375 ratings
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3.75 avg rating — 76 ratings
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4.06 avg rating — 5,313 ratings
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15

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3.73 avg rating — 458 ratings
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16

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3.91 avg rating — 2,379 ratings
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17

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3.86 avg rating — 37 ratings
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18

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3.68 avg rating — 79 ratings
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19

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4.22 avg rating — 10,149 ratings
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20

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3.79 avg rating — 1,197 ratings
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21

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3.81 avg rating — 2,182 ratings
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22

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3.72 avg rating — 288 ratings
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23

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3.93 avg rating — 799 ratings
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24

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3.46 avg rating — 138 ratings
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25

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3.61 avg rating — 83 ratings
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26

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3.63 avg rating — 122 ratings
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27

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3.88 avg rating — 453 ratings
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28

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3.54 avg rating — 81 ratings
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29

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3.74 avg rating — 23 ratings
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30

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4.16 avg rating — 5,466 ratings
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31

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3.87 avg rating — 107,062 ratings
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32

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4.39 avg rating — 21,056 ratings
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33

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4.46 avg rating — 2,508 ratings
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34

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4.29 avg rating — 6,191 ratings
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35

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4.21 avg rating — 3,411 ratings
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36

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3.57 avg rating — 168 ratings
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37

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4.03 avg rating — 187 ratings
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38

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3.86 avg rating — 7 ratings
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39

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3.89 avg rating — 516 ratings
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40

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3.82 avg rating — 438 ratings
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41

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3.24 avg rating — 25 ratings
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42

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43

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3.53 avg rating — 158 ratings
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44

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3.72 avg rating — 469 ratings
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45

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3.74 avg rating — 126 ratings
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46

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3.83 avg rating — 82 ratings
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47

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3.86 avg rating — 10,546 ratings
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48

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3.50 avg rating — 16 ratings
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49

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liked it 3.00 avg rating — 7 ratings
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50

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51

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52

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3.75 avg rating — 88 ratings
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53

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3.39 avg rating — 44 ratings
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54

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3.83 avg rating — 1,214 ratings
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55

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3.33 avg rating — 18 ratings
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56

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3.71 avg rating — 119 ratings
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58

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59

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59

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4.25 avg rating — 68 ratings
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59

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59

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3.81 avg rating — 483 ratings
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59

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4.43 avg rating — 23 ratings
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59

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3.85 avg rating — 2,261 ratings
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59

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3.66 avg rating — 359,719 ratings
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59

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3.94 avg rating — 1,922 ratings
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59

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4.02 avg rating — 593 ratings
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59

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4.85 avg rating — 13 ratings
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59

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4.76 avg rating — 190 ratings
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71

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4.11 avg rating — 675 ratings
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71

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3.91 avg rating — 664 ratings
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71

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3.86 avg rating — 21 ratings
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71

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4.21 avg rating — 90,735 ratings
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71

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 8 ratings
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76

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3.69 avg rating — 442 ratings
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76

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4.30 avg rating — 13,403 ratings
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76

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3.22 avg rating — 32 ratings
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76

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3.33 avg rating — 1,774 ratings
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76

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3.52 avg rating — 23 ratings
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76

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4.46 avg rating — 1,835,174 ratings
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76

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4.27 avg rating — 3,562 ratings
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76

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4.92 avg rating — 13 ratings
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84

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3.65 avg rating — 1,815 ratings
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84

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3.72 avg rating — 117 ratings
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84

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3.83 avg rating — 2,012 ratings
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84

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4.20 avg rating — 2,392 ratings
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84

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4.34 avg rating — 5,065 ratings
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89

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3.96 avg rating — 187 ratings
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89

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3.40 avg rating — 158 ratings
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89

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4.17 avg rating — 1,153 ratings
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89

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4.16 avg rating — 28,563 ratings
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93

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3.76 avg rating — 546 ratings
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93

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3.29 avg rating — 7 ratings
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93

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4.12 avg rating — 679 ratings
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93

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3.81 avg rating — 8,548 ratings
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97

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4.13 avg rating — 7,580 ratings
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97

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings
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97

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4.10 avg rating — 17,532 ratings
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3.55 avg rating — 16,675 ratings
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123 books · 61 voters · list created January 19th, 2012 by Heidi (votes) .
285 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Heidi 2569 books
16 friends
Shu 2038 books
8 friends
Mike 10203 books
63 friends
Camille 195 books
88 friends
Brian 194 books
97 friends
Yolima 5 books
9 friends
Ross 234 books
48 friends
Matt 1177 books
89 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-3 of 3 (3 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Jenn "JR" (new)

Jenn "JR" I added some more books - the list has changed a little bit - https://careers.state.gov/wp-content/...


message 2: by Sayed (new)

Sayed Hashemi I would be much appreciated to access the soft copy of the books for reading.


message 3: by Grant (new)

Grant Earnest My reason for adding Bureaucracy: Good book on the incentives that bureaucracies face. One of the takeaways is that successful agencies produce publicly visible and concrete services. Sustaining diplomatic engagement, which often is behind the scenes and requires balancing conflicting goals, is less rewarded than, say, producing cables, spending grants, and reviewing visa applications.


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