Undiplomatic Activities
Richard Woolcott
‘Dick Woolcott was Australia’s leading diplomat for a generation and had a remarkable range of contacts around the world. He also possesses a great sense of humour from which even prime ministers were not spared.’
Gough Whitlam
International politics is a serious business. But, as Richard Woolcott shows in these witty reminiscences, the diplomatic world has more than its fair share of absurdity, and even high comedy.
Required not only to sacrifice a settled home and family life in the service of their country, diplomats must also heroically offer up their livers to booze, their stomachs to endless official dinners, their integrity to dangerous liaisons and the weasel art of spin, and their sanity to the pomposity and weird protocols that are part and parcel of the international scene.
Undiplomatic Activities is filled with anecdotes and tall tales from an extraordinary career that spanned the second half of the twentieth century: from junior diplomat in Cold War Moscow to secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra, via the capitals of Europe, Africa, Asia, the USA, and the United Nations.
From the heady negotiations of global statecraft to the petty and labyrinthine politics of ministers and mandarins, join this ultimate insider on an hilarious and insightful tour of duty in the diplomatic world.
Undiplomatic Activities is superbly illustrated by David Rowe, one of Australia’s comic geniuses.
Reviews
‘This wonderfully entertaining book is a rare opportunity to see behind the policy and protocol of our foreign affairs.’
Dave Bullard, Herald Sun
‘Rather than a dull memoir by a high-ranking civil servant, his is a book that easily draws a wry smile and then splits that smile in half in order to allow an unstoppable laugh to tumble forth.’
David Gilchrist, West Australian
» All reviews for this title‘Not only does he recount hilarious anecdotes of ambassadorial life, but he reminds us of a time when the public service was an independent, noble calling in which the truth was told, rather than just spin for political masters.’
Frank Walker, Sun Herald
