SUNY Press Catalog - Spring 2009 - (Page 1) suny press • general interest VERA AND THE AMBASSADOR Escape and Return Vera Blinken and Donald Blinken Vera and the Ambassador Escape and Return Vera and Donald Blinken A behind-the-scenes look at diplomacy and international relations in post-Communist Eastern Europe. Vera and the Ambassador is a book to be savored and enjoyed on many levels. Both a behind-the-scenes peek at the operations of a U.S. embassy in a post–Cold War former Soviet satellite and a personal story of a refugee’s escape and triumphant return,Vera and Donald Blinken’s dual memoir openly details their challenges, setbacks, and victories as they worked in tandem to advance America’s interests in Eastern Europe and to restore a former Soviet satellite state to a pre-Communist level of prosperity. “Spend time with Vera and the ambassador—in person or in this book— and you encounter a remarkable American couple.Their devotion to each other, to our country, and to freedom is a treasure of our times.” — Bill Moyers “What a life! Vera and Donald Blinken are the ultimate power couple whose wise and witty understanding of our world should be required reading for everyone in public service. This is also a love story—love of country, love for each other—that will inspire generations to come.” — Lynn Sherr, ABC News Vera Blinken was born in Budapest and came to the United State in 1950, where she graduated from Vassar College with a degree in art history and worked in interior design. She returned to Hungary in 1994 when her husband was appointed U.S. ambassador, and in 1996 she founded PRIMAVERA, the first mobile breast cancer screening program in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2002, for services to the Hungarian people, she was awarded the Middle Cross of the Republic of Hungary. Donald Blinken, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary from 1994 to 1998, graduated magna cum laude in economics at Harvard University and cofounded the investment banking/venture capital firm of E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co. He is currently co-Chair of Columbia University’s European Institute and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. The Blinkens live in New York City. FEBRuARy 350 pp Trim size: 6 ½ x 9 ½ 8 b/w and 36 color photographs $24.95/T jacketed hc 978-1-4384-2663-1 MEMOIR POLITICS e “President Clinton made a wise choice in sending Donald and Vera Blinken to Hungary. This book serves as a reminder of the critical role that ambassadors can play in advancing the interests of our country at the pivot points of history. Their teamwork was good for Hungary, good for our country, and it also makes for a great story.” — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. www.sunypress.edu http://www.sunypress.edu/details.asp?id=61825 http://www.sunypress.edu
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