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Reviewed by Ambassador W. Robert Pearson (Ret.)

Uncommon Company: Dissidents and Diplomats, Enemies and Artists
By William H. Luers

Ambassador William H. Luers’ book – his account of his singular life in diplomacy, arts and culture – should be required reading by every diplomat. Not just American diplomats either, but also for all those who work for a better world based on respect and a common commitment to sorting out differences to achieve solutions. Luers’ career gave him many opportunities to learn and to apply lessons and insights on how to make diplomatic progress – and also on how to avoid wrong decisions.

Luers joined the Foreign Service in 1957 aiming to focus on U.S.- USSR relations. He did not arrive in Moscow, however, as a new officer on the upward path to greatness. He arrived as the General Services Officer in charge of the motor pool and a host of Russian employees. By this means, he perfected his Russian, became a keen observer of the Russian character, and then landed a job in the Political Section. There his passion to embrace the cultural world – and its human rights dimensions – blossomed.

When two famous American cultural figures – Edward Albee and John Steinbeck – arrived in Moscow for a much anticipated cultural exchange, he interpreted for Albee and exploited the opportunity to gain access to Russian dissidents, artists and writers. From that platform, he helped widen the American-Russian conversation, despite the Cold War, beginning to build confidence in finding agreement on difficult issues. Some cautioned him on his tact, warning of dangers to the U.S. Soviet relationship, others supported him, and he forged ahead.

This style and approach became Luers’ algorithm – go beyond the focus solely on security, political and economic concerns to shape an environment that would encourage serious engagement. This was soft power long before the term came into use. President Eisenhower had established the United States Information Agency (USIA) in 1953 to bring to the wider world the arts and culture of the U.S. – and the democratic values that promoted that cultural flourishing. In that happy time and for many years after, the U.S. enthusiastically supported American artists and writers in exchanges globally and enjoyed great success.

From his Russian experience, Luers found that dissident writers and artists in Venezuela and Czechoslovakia – his other ambassadorial posts – were not trying to make their country another America. They were homegrown patriots dedicated to a noble vision that would reform their own countries and their own destinies. Through this experience, Luers learned a lesson that he applied throughout his postings – all countries tell lies about themselves and believe them – even democracies. As dissidents insisted on telling the truth about their own countries, so he felt that Americans must come to realize that believing our own lies instead of our truths will weaken our own democracy. Truth telling is as critical a need for our democracy as it is for all others.

“Uncommon Company” shows a life that spectacularly matched the cream of American culture with the cultural communities, democratic activists and aspiring reformers in Russia, Venezuela, and Czechoslovakia. His work to marry culture with diplomacy continued vigorously during his tenure as president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He played superbly the role of an accomplished senior diplomat in enhancing the stature of the Met and guiding its future. Called upon in 2002 to work on the Iranian nuclear issue, he helped fashion the agreement in 2015 to manage the evolution towards an ultimate solution for both the U.S. and Iran. Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018; the result is now a greater risk of an Iranian nuclear weapon.

To write in detail about all the events that played across the stage of Ambassador Luers’ cultural diplomacy with the State Department, the Met and afterwards with global issues and world leaders would actually require another book. I leave those accomplishments to the reader, the book and to the elegant way Bill Luers fashioned and described his career.

For diplomats, I specially commend the book’s final chapter, “Uncommon Company.” At a time when nuclear war loomed and what seemed to be an existential competition reigned, Luers reached out repeatedly to the broader communities wherever he was to foster productive dialogue and sharing. From those communities of different perspectives, Luers fashioned a common view that could open the doors to a better path.

Ambassador Luers offers important observations about American’s place in the world and the importance of effective diplomacy on the world stage. His lessons for diplomacy are as fundamentally important as they are clear. A career that strengthens diplomacy and avoids conflict also benefits politics and our daily lives. Listening is better than talking. Asking questions is better than confrontation. Knowing and understanding the other’s goals moves the conversation forward. The most durable agreements are those in which all sides believe they have won something. In discussion settings keep “uncommon company,” bring together people with a variety of experiences and perspectives to learn more about each other. Candor, but not confrontation, is essential to solving a problem. At home, resolving our domestic tensions is a precondition to resolving international tensions. If we are to solve problems at home and abroad, we must learn how to meet others where their values and interests offer a way forward.

Today, we exist in a nuclear world of intense competition among three great powers – one democracy if we can keep it so, and two dictatorships determined to wrest world control into their hands. Great diplomacy has allowed us to end the Cold War without firing a shot. Our military deterrence has maintained the secure framework of American power. Our economic strength, combined with that of our allies, comprises nearly two-thirds of the world’s economy. Our cultural influence permeates the fine arts, the performing arts, and sports around the world. We make progress by sharing with the world our commitment to protect our values. The active use of force since WWII has not achieved all that we desired – in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq (twice), Libya and Afghanistan.

As the world grows increasingly complicated, American diplomacy backed by military, economic and cultural power is the best tool we have short of war to solve disputes. In close cooperation with all our national resources – military, economic, intelligence and cultural – diplomacy offers a better way ahead than turning to war to solve complicated interconnected problems of global significance. Freedom from tyranny is the hope of human existence on this earth. Effective American diplomacy is the handmaiden of that hope.End.


Ambassador W. Robert Pearson
Ambassador W. Robert Pearson

Ambassador W. Robert Pearson is a retired professional Foreign Service Officer who was Director General of the U.S. Foreign Service from 2003 to 2006, repositioning the American Foreign Service to meet the new challenges of the 21st century and winning two national awards for his efforts. He was U.S. ambassador to Turkey from 2000 to 2003. Ambassador Pearson served as Executive Secretary of the State Department and on the National Security Council in addition to assignments in China and NATO and other overseas posts.

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