Wind Shadow Press

The July/August 2010 issue of the Foreign Service Journal contains a review of Encounters by David I. Hitchcock, a retired Foreign Service career minister and former senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Hitchcock states that the author “eloquently expounds her husband’s views of what the United States Information Agency programs should accomplish; how policy loaded they should be; and what the proper mix should be between short-term public affairs and longer-range educational exchanges.” He adds that “this memoir is neither dry history or public diplomacy, nor merely a set of entertaining travel stories…Rather she uses his activities and notes to illuminate these larger professional debates,” and he states that the professional issues that concerned the late Clifton Foster “are still not resolved.”

Encounters: A Lifetime Spent Crossing Cultural Frontiers by Nancy Keeney Forster is a 2010 Eric Hoffer Book Awards prize winner in the Reference category, which includes titles from traditional and merging reference areas, including history, psychology, biography, and education.

This is a fascinating narrative about many historical events that are still timely today. Through mixing her own recollections with the writings of her late husband, diplomat Clifton Forster, Nancy Keeney Forster opens a vista to several decades of the 20th century, bringing events of the past vividly back to life for the reader, including World War II spent as a teenager (prisoner of war) in the Philippines, life in Japan after the war as a young diplomat, and a diplomatic posting in Israel. This book is for anyone interested in recent world history…even those who have read widely on these subjects will appreciate a fresh take.

—The US Review of Books: The Eric Hoffer Award

Established at the start of the 21st century as a means of opening a door to writing of significant merit, this award honors the memory of the great American philosopher, Eric Hoffer, by highlighting salient writing, as well as the independent spirit of small publishers.

Nancy Forster has been selected to be one of the presenters at the 2010 IB (International Baccalaureate) Conference of the Americas which will take place in Miami July 15-18th. Her presentation, “Encounters: Crossing Cultural Frontiers,” will address the conference theme: Exploring cultures, Expanding minds.

The Altamont Free Library in upstate New York has invited Nancy Forster to do a book reading on the evening of June 8, 2010. Earlier that day she will be meeting with students at Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School.

Encounters is on the 2010 “short list” for the grand prize finalists for the Eric Hoffer Book Award published on May 1st. The winners in 20 categories and for the grand prize will be announced later in May.

Nancy Forster was the featured speaker at the spring luncheon of BACEPOW (Bay Area Civilian Ex-Prisoners of War) at the Elks Lodge in Alameda CA on May 1, 2010. In January survivors, their relatives and/or offspring held their annual meeting to celebrate their liberation in 1944. This year 1s the 65th anniversary of that day which is engraved in each ex-POW’s memory.

A graduate of the International School in Manila has purchased copies of Encounters to give as door prizes when alumni gather in reunions this summer in the United States and Australia.

The Alumni Office at the American International School in Japan has posted a page for the book on the school website here.

When Nancy met her former students from Nishimachi International School in January, many of them had purchased the book and brought copies for her to sign.

Nancy will be in Washington DC and New York City from May 23rd to June 12th. In Washington she will be doing two book presentations, one at The Cosmos Club on May 25th and another at the Washington International School on May 26th.

Readings in February and March have drawn enthusiastic audiences. The Belvedere-Tiburon Library set chairs for 30 people on March 16th; over 60 crowded into the room.

In a review for ForeWord Clarion Reviews Thomas BeVier writes:

Mrs Forster brings formidable good humor and literary sensitivity to the telling of her family’s story. (She and Clifton had three children.) The spirit of Encounters is perhaps best reflected in a verse she quotes written by a poet and Nobel Laureate, Rabindranth Tagore:

“I slept and deamt that life was Joy.
I woke and saw that life was Duty.
I acted, and behold–Duty was Joy.”

(This is) a book that should be in the kit of anyone considering the Foreign Service. It also holds much interest for post-World War II history buffs, and it could serve as a rebuttal to those in the current political climate who argue that diplomacy is a waste of time.

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A number of insightful reviews have been posted by readers on www.amazon.com, including one by a high school history teacher from Crescent City in the California Redwood country, Lisa Howard. She writes:

This book is full of historical information that teachers can readily use as part of their curriculum to bring a human face to the events of this time period in Asia. Encounters is extremely useful because it is not a mere reflection of a time gone by, but an accounting of events as they took place.

Two events are scheduled for April: the Belvedere-Tiburon Newcomers Book Group April 20th and a presentation at Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park, California at 7:30 pm April 29th.

Nancy plans to visit Washington DC the latter part of May and arrangements are being made for book events there.