A Global Readership

Happy to see the U.S. State Dept. sees value in placing Pres. Obama’s books in embassy libraries in Egypt, S. Korea, Indonesia, etc. The Moonie-run right-wing Washington Times is trying to stir up a controversy with a story on this, “But State Department spokesman Noel Clay said the book purchases followed regular government procurement rules. He said diplomats have long used books as a way to help broker talks on important foreign-policy matters….We often use books to engage key audiences in discussions of foreign policy.” In 1996 I published the first paperback edition of Dreams From My Father as part of Kodansha Globe, a series devoted to books for cross-cultural and multicultural audiences, so it makes me very glad to see the book is still engaging readers in distant lands.