Abstract
This article looks at Edward Alexander, an American diplomat who served in Hungary between 1965 and 1969, and his various writings. An Armenian-American man of letters, Alexander served in psychological warfare in World War II, then joined cold war radios and later the Foreign Service. Our focus is on the years 1965-67, when he served as Press and Cultural Affairs Officer at the Budapest Legation. Available sources include his official diplomatic reports, his rather large Hungarian state security file, a lifetime interview conducted under the aegis of the State Department in the late 1980s, a book on Armenian history, and a semi-autobiographical intelligence thriller he penned in 2000. These sources allow for a complex evaluation of his performance in Hungary and of his writing skills on account of his attempt to fictionalize his own exploits.
Highlights
This article looks at Edward Alexander, an American diplomat who served in Hungary between 1965 and 1969, and his various writings
American diplomats have been known for sharing their experiences with the general audience in the form of memoirs, and some have ventured into the realm of fiction and non-fiction alike
In 1950 he was invited to join the Voice of America (VOA) radio staff to develop its trans-Caucasian broadcasts in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Tartar, and Uzbek
Summary
This article looks at Edward Alexander, an American diplomat who served in Hungary between 1965 and 1969, and his various writings. Alexander’s Armenian identity transpires even more clearly in his third and so far latest book, Opus, which was published in late 2000.5 It is a semi-autographical intelligence thriller about an Armenian-American soldier-turned-diplomat searching for the lost manuscript of Beethoven’s Tenth symphony from the final days of World War II to his tour in Budapest in the late 1960s.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
