Diplomatic Tales

"Diplomatic Tales" contains two Ebooks, first published separately, a memoir and a short story collection.

''Sunsets In Singapore: A Foreign Service Memoir" tells the story of how American diplomacy works overseas. Career diplomat William S. Shepard gives the reader an insider’s view of an American embassy. The reader learns what constitutes an embassy, what the responsibilities are for each section, and how they work together. The story reflects Shepard’s actual diplomatic career, which also included service at our embassies in Singapore, Saigon, Budapest, and Athens, as well as five tours of duty in Washington at the Department of State.

This is a personal memoir of diplomatic service that spans a quarter century, ranging from administrative duties as General Services Officer in tropical Singapore, to political analysis behind the Iron Curtain in Budapest. It has been praised by persons taking the formidable Foreign Service Examination as a helpful practical guide to the challenges facing career officers, and how they are solved. From personal security to representation, the career skills needed for modern diplomacy emerge here. So do the experiences facing diplomatic families, as they move around the globe, gathering experiences for memories that will last a lifetime.

In "Embassy Tales: Stories of the Foreign Service," we explore through fiction every part of an American Embassy, from the glamorous Ambassadorial suite to the Consular office, where fledgling diplomats on the visa line face their own challenges – and meet more local citizens than most political officers! As the reader gains familiarity with how an Embassy comes together, there will be no surprise to find also jealousy, love lost and gained, perhaps a murder or two – they happen in the best of families – and even occasional hauntings may be expected.

So, welcome to the Embassy. Your personal invitation to my final official Fourth of July Reception is enclosed.

Here is an assessment of this book by a new Foreign Service Officer.

“I recently passed the Oral Assessment portion of the Foreign Service Exam and can attest to the relevance of William Shepard's experiences to the type of hypothetical situations raised by the examiners. A Foreign Service candidate will learn not only from the specific examples cited in the book, but more importantly from Mr. Shepard's thought process while handling a wide variety of issues facing members of the diplomatic corps.
Page for the page, this book is the best study guide for preparing yourself to take the Foreign Service Exam.”