From 1865 to 1945; a number of prominent marriages united American heiresses and members of the British aristocracy. In Informal Ambassadors; author Dana Cooper examines the lives and marriages of the American-born; British-wed Lady Jennie Jerome Churchill; Mary Endicott Chamberlain; Vicereine Mary Leiter Curzon; Duchess Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan; and Lady Nancy Astor. This cohort of women surprised their families - both British and American - by exhibiting an extraordinary degree of agency in a period that placed women solidly outside the boundaries of politics and diplomacy. Without the formal title of diplomat or membership in Parliament; these women nonetheless exerted significant influence in the male-dominated arena of foreign affairs and international politics. As the wives of leading members of the British aristocracy; they had uncompromised and unlimited access to the eyes and ears of individuals at the highest level in Great Britain - the very decision makers who formulated and implemented foreign policy with their home country. Collectively and individually; these informal ambassadors worked to improve relations at the turn of the twentieth century; and by no coincidence; the United States and Great Britain began to view one another less as adversaries and more as allies. Combining diplomatic history with gender and women's history; Informal Ambassadors demonstrates not only that could women act as transnational envoys at a time when they could not apply for State Department employment but that they influenced Anglo-American relations to a degree never before considered by historians.
#1906614 in Books 2010-07-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.20 x 1.10 x 6.00l; 1.44 #File Name: 1603441840363 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Best Book available on USAAF in the Pacific in the early days of WWIIBy William G. HippsThis book captures the desperate straight that the US found itself in fighting back the well establish Japanese war machine chewing its way through the So. Pacific in the early days of WWII. Too often the Naval aviators are glamorized for their brave carrier to carrier campaigns; while the pilots and men of the US Army Air Corp is given little credit for stopping the Japanese push to establish a lock on ultimate victory by invading and controlling the oil in the Indonesian archipelago and backing that conquest with control of No. Australia. WWII in the Pacific would have ended with a much different conclusion had the Japanese been successful in establishing the Asian Co-prosperity Sphere.For the first time; the oft overlooked raid to the occupied Philippines accomplished by a group of eighteen B-25's and three B-17's which materially disrupted the logistical supply centers in the already "conquered" Philippine Islands. The mission called "Royce's Raid" took place 2 weeks after Gen. Doolittle's one time bombing mission over Tokyo and other targets of opportunity in Japan.This strike force began its mission in Darwin Australia and flew 2250 miles into Japanese controlled territory with no back up support. For an entire week Concentrating in Mindanao's harbor in Cebu and the air bases surrounding this key logistical center. 4 ships were sunk including a loaded troop carrier with 3000 Japanese soldiers on board. Stockpile of supplies concentrated in warehouses around Cebu to be used in New Guinea; Indo-China and; ultimately; Australia; were destroyed. This untold mission resulted in the change of Commanders by the Japanese for the Philippines and the strategic command structure in place for the conquest of South Asia and Australia. It put the Japanese timetable for their southern Pacific campaign back 6 months and gave the US and our allies the time necessary to bring men and material into the southern Pacific to allow battles like Guadalcanal; New Guinea and MacArthur's push northward to take place.All in all; Operation Plum is an excellent addition to the recorded history of early WWII in the Pacific. Hopefully; it will stimulate other scholars to look in greater detail to the vital importance of Air Power in stopping the Japanese push southward before it was too late.34 of 35 people found the following review helpful. Excellent Scholarly Work on an Obscure Pre-war Deployment Early Pacific War DebacleBy David M. DoughertyFew readers; even those who consider themselves conversant on World War II; will know the story this book tells before reading it. I gave it five stars for unearthing a little-known story; telling it well; and adding to the reader's World War II knowledge. Operation Plum was the deployment of the 27th Bombardment Group (Army Air Force) to the Philippines in November; 1941 to beef up MacArthur's defense of the Philippines. 1;209 men were sent to the Philippines; and a year later 20 surviving pilots were rotated back to the United States leaving two enlisted men in Australia in the 3rd Bomb Group. The remainder were all killed or had become POWs under conditions from which only 30% survived to return to the US after the war. This book tells the story of the 27th centering around one pilot; Glenwood Stephenson; destined not be be one of the survivors. The authors tell a fine story; providing just enough background on political and military events affecting the 27th and its personnel to keep the story of the 27th in perspective. MacArthur is featured prominently as are the other commanders in the Philippines and Australia; but without taking sides on his personality and generalship. So what happened; and why did the 27th suffer so dramatically in this incredibly feckless implementation of a critical plan to counter expected Japanese aggression? The 27th was formed in 1940 at Barksdale Airfield across the Red River from Shreveport; Louisiana; and its pilots were brought to a high state of efficiency with twin-engine Douglas A-20 Havoc attack bombers and single-engine Douglas A-24 Dauntless dive bombers at Barksdale; Savannah; and other airbases. The path taken by some pilots to this point is told by following the early life of Stephenson; who was raised in poverty in the Midwest during the depression; and then earned an appointment to West Point and became an aviator. By late in October; 1941; the 27th had been brought up to strength and began moving across country to the West Coast for passage to the Philippines. Unfortunately; peacetime confusion reigned; and the personnel were shipped separately from their planes and equipment. The personnel arrived in Manila on November 20th; but their planes and equipment were shipped in a convoy that sailed from San Francisco on November 14th; stopped at Honolulu; and was in the mid-Pacific when Pearl Harbor was attacked. On December 12th; the convoy was diverted to Brisbane; Australia; sealing the fate of the bulk of the 27th's personnel to fight without planes or arms as infantry on Bataan. Only twenty-three pilots and two enlisted men were flown to Australia to assemble and return with the planes; but they found the aircraft had been haphazardly packed and could be assembled only with much difficulty. Parts were missing; and guns; armor and ammunition were absent. As it turned out; none of those planes would ever be used in the Philippines. Another batch of twelve pilots was dispatched on January 31; 1942; by submarine from Corrigidor to Java. A few of the A-24s were flown to Java from Australia; and the 27th finally fought the Japanese in the air as a unit with their A-24s over the skies of Indonesia. The tiny 27th force; without ground crews to maintain its aircraft; was rapidly decimated by the vastly superior numbers of Japanese aircraft; and after a short time the personnel; including Stephenson; escaped to Australia. In March; 1942; the 27th's survivors were absorbed by the 3rd Bomb Group and flew missions in Mitchell B-25s against the Japanese in the South Pacific until rotated to the States in October; 1942. By then Stephenson had been killed in a plane crash. Throughout all this the authors tell the stories of other 27th Group pilots; their relations with the British; Dutch; Australians; and Army personnel. That they endured many travails goes without saying. They took part in what became known as "Royce's Raid" with B-25s they had literally stolen back from the Dutch; arriving on Mindanao April 12th; three days after the fall of Bataan. The 27th bombed a number of Japanese installations on Luzon and Mindanao; but their operations were hurriedly brought to a close in order to evacuate VIPs to Australia. The list of passengers is given in an Appendix; and includes two newspaper correspondents who were considered more valuable than fighter pilots. This book is important to World War Two experts and newcomers alike. The authors take great pains to put the 27th's activities into the context of the war around them; and that is absolutely necessary although possible annoying to some experts to allow everything to fall into place. I did not discover any glaring errors except a handful of opinion statements that were easily passed by. This book is a great read; well researched and with extensive end notes; excellent appendixes including one giving the later careers of the surviving pilots; and a comprehensive bibliography. It is a great addition to any library on World War II; and I recommend its purchase and reading.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A must readBy Welsh boyThe early part of of the war in the pacific was largely forgotten as it was all mostly the bad news from the Philipines; Java and later Northern Australia. The bad news wouldnt help raise morale back home. So a lot of the events from Dec 41 to early 42 were ommitted by U.S leadership; especially when the war turned in the allies favour after Midway and the taking of Guadacanal. This book describes what happened to an amazing group of U.S Airmen. They didnt falter againt over whelming odds; even though they knew what the probale outcome would be. The book was well written; and didnt "waffle" over certain things; like some tend to do when trying to explain certain subjects to their readers.A must read if you are curious what it was like to face the Japanese in the early part of the war. In the air and on the ground....... poorly equipped as your country had just woken up to a world war. The 27th BG ; and all the others there; gave the U.S time to get fired up.
