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Soldier To Ambassador: D-day Normandy Landing To The Persian Gulf War - A Memoir Odyssey

Used Book in Good Condition
This fascinating memoir charts Charles W. Hostler's remarkable life that led from his family's early difficult status through the hard times of the Great Depression to peak in an ambassadorship to the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain. Along the way the author sold newspapers on San Francisco's cable cars as a young boy to help support his family, moved to Los Angeles where he graduated from UCLA, worked for the California Highway Patrol, received his ROTC commission as a second lieutenant in the US Army Air Corp, was given secret agent training on the East Coast, then worked with OSS (predecessor to CIA) and in England's famed MI 6 counter-espionage activities. He was wounded in the D-Day Normandy Landing invasion, while working covertly in the Allied effort to deceive the enemy in Europe. After this, Hostler lead OSS in Romania, then trained Turkey's air intelligence during the build-up to the Cold War, after which he was a key player in Lebanon and Syria, becoming US Military Attache in Lebanon, Jordan, and Cyprus. He retired from the US Air Force as a Colonel and went to work in the US defense industry, being sent to Paris, Beirut, and Cairo, among other destinations. Hostler's extensive residence of over 20 years in the Middle East and travel to other parts of the world and his mastery of languages were complemented by academic studies that resulted in his earning two masters and a doctorate degree and publishing a number of books, most notably Turkestan and the Soviets. Hosteler's military background, extended public service, and other accomplishments led to his being appointed US ambassador to Bahrain (1989-1993). During this period he was intimately involved in the Persian Golf War and its complications. excerpt from book's back cover