Citizenship | Literature
Select novels, short stories, and nonfiction on contemporary life.
Ben East’s nonfiction debut recounts how JFK’s bold experiment shaped diplomatic careers and influenced modern American diplomacy.
The figures highlighted here tracked looted antiquities after the invasion of Iraq, re-established diplomacy in Afghanistan after 9/11, and secured village infrastructure while war raged in Vietnam. As hostages in Iran, they maintained diplomatic discipline to bridge a volatile cultural divide. These are individuals of deep courage and conviction, whether integrating a southern U.S. high school or finding comfort in African village beliefs to cope with personal tragedy.
Read, Listen, Watch
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Great stuff! In a few simple lines our craft is cast in opposing opposing lights: it is spiritual grandness and workaday labor. We are at once inspired and guided by “the invisible hand of the soul.” Yet who can deny that “Writing a novel is drudgery”? Yes & yes. More inspiration below. Dear Sugars, My…
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This blog opened four years ago with the following: I wish more people were reading books. Here’s what I’m reading: Heaven Is Coming Home, by David Suarez Gomez. That’s all I wrote. And I didn’t post again for months. I had a voracious appetite for reading and I was writing books, but they were years from…
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Pro footballers aren’t the only ones questioning what it means to practice freedom of expression. Take this scene from Patchworks, released Thursday from Moonshine Cove Publishing, in which two federal bureaucrats dispute the meaning of loyalty. For the rakish Brad Harcourt it means standing beside his desk every day and pledging allegiance to the flag,…
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we’re not, amiright? Got soul.
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Taking aim at the institutions we once trusted to save us from ourselves. Out Today. AMERICA’S NEXT GUN MASSACRE IS INEVITABLE. Unless one government intern can make a miracle of his odd DC jobs. Gabriel Dunne’s internship has him tracking gun violence in America. But before he can start, boss Chloe tasks him with planning…
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09-21-17
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America’s next gun massacre is inevitable. Unless one government intern makes a miracle of his odd jobs in Washington, DC. This week.
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The air and leaves outside turn to fall. In the week ahead we’ll celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Navrathri, and the official start of Autumn. I’ll hold the first book discussion for my debut novel, 18 months old already. My Foreign Service colleagues and I will start the annual ritual of progress into new jobs, new countries,…
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America’s next gun massacre is inevitable.
Ben East Books 