Dennis C. Jett is a professor of international affairs at Penn State, a university best known for covering up the rape of small children so as to not bring shame to its football program. Before accepting the role of professor at the notorious school, he was an ambassador to noted powerhouse American allies Peru and Mozambique, plum gigs he received after almost three decades in the foreign service. In his spare time, he writes essays about movies that he has not seen for Poke Button Pioneer Chris Hughes' New Republic. These essays are then used to denigrate the film he hasn't seen and hurt their Oscar chances.
Dennis C. Jett has also written several books. And while I haven't actually bothered to read any of them, it seems pretty obvious that they're garbage.
Consider, for instance, his most recent tome, American Ambassadors: The Past, Present, and Future of America's Diplomats. In this book, the long-time foreign service officer probably whinges about the fact that wealthy donors are given ambassadorial duties while those who work day in and day out in the foreign service don't. Our selfless diplomats are the real heroes, of course. Not like those icky military men such as Chris Kyle. So sweaty and gross. Ew.
Now, I can understand why Jett is bitter. After all, he spends his years doing scut work and playing politics and sees all of the good ambassadorial gigs go to rich dilettantes. But it's worth considering that the reason such jobs go to obviously unqualified folks is because, honestly, ambassadors aren't that important. Diplomacy is a useless joke and people who engage in it are wasting their lives. Everything he's worked for is a lie. His job and life are meaningless, his embassies little more than useful places to stash CIA operatives who are doing the real work of keeping America safe.
Perhaps Jett addresses all this—all of his self-loathing and his understanding of the meaninglessness of his own life—but I wouldn't know, as I haven't read the book. So I'll just assume he doesn't.
Anyway, you shouldn't read Dennis C. Jett's pointless book about his dreadful life. It's a celebration of an awful person's horrible existence. Instead, maybe go see a movie about a guy who understands that our enemies are savages and that the only way to deal with savages is to kill them dead, ASAP.