Ambassador's Report
Potpourri
by Harper, $4.00.
Mr. Bowles took over the Embassy at New Delhi in October, 1951, with a determination to like India and to give the Indians a better picture of American democracy; and he appears to have been extremely successful on both counts. He brought informality and a more democratic touch into the Embassy routine; he sent his children to an Indian public school; and he traveled sixty thousand miles, visiting hundreds of villages and talking to Indians in every walk of life.
Aside from furnishing a compact course on Indian history, religion, and recent politics, Mr. Bowles’s book is notable for its intelligent discussion of India’s gigantic problems; its sensitive appraisal of Nehru; its warm humanity, fair-mindedness, and thoughtful criticism. Mr. Bowles, after extensive travels throughout the Far East, became convinced that the future of Asia hinges on India and the uncommitted peoples, not on Syngman Rhee and Chiang Kai-shek. The heart and mind of Nehru, he says, are the key to the heart and mind of Asia, and from this premise he outlines a persuasive set of recommendations for U.S. policy. Ambassador’s Report is certainly the best book on India written by an American since the war.