This book is a history of the way in which the United States has sought to engage foreign publics since the end of the Cold War, and as such it is an analysis of one of the most poorly handled aspects of US foreign policy. In 1989 the US was riding high and its public diplomacy (the methods by which it advanced foreign policy though reaching out to foreign publics) was seen as an especial strength.By 2001 US public diplomacy was a mess, morale of personnel had never been lower, and the country didn't even have a specialized agency to conduct this work anymore. This book details why, explains who is to blame, and show what needs to be done for the US or any other practitioner of public diplomacy to harness this increasingly important dimension of foreign affairs to the full.