Assignment

Written by an American diplomat who served in Romania from 1947 to 1950, during the time of the Communist takeover of the country, Assignment: Bucharest relates the author's experiences as director of a Western information program in the Communist-controlled country. A transparently autobiographical novel, it is an unforgiving indictment of a government with which the United States still maintained diplomatic relations.



Although written in the form of a novel, the book is a factual description of the events surrounding the Communist takeover of Romania. His insightful descriptions of Romanian personalities give this book its enduring importance.



Assignment: Bucharest is enriched by an introductory study by Ernest H. Latham, Jr., himself a former American diplomat in Romania during the years of the Communist regime. The author, Donald Dunham, had a distinguished career in the foreign service, serving as Public Affairs Officer at the American Legation in Bucharest from 1947 to 1950. He worked in various capacities at the United Nations from 1962 until his retirement in 1984. His other books include Envoy Unextraordinary and Kremlin Target: U.S.A.: Conquest by Propaganda.