Mountaintops and Mai Tais: Scaling the Heights Toward a Higher Calling

In this fascinating book, award-winning author Douglas Johnston traces his circuitous and largely unpredictable path from gathering intelligence on Soviet naval forces through the periscope of a nuclear submarine to blazing new trails in diplomacy by incorporating religious considerations into the practice of international politics. The first half of the book, which is laced with humorous episodes in his life's journey, marries with a more serious half that describes the role he played in developing and later putting into practice a new form of engagement called Faith-based Diplomacy. The results of its practice are little short of amazing and make for captivating reading. They also reaffirm the value of living out a higher sense of purpose. 18. Dr. Douglas Johnston is President Emeritus and founder of the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy. Prior to that he was Executive Vice President and COO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and before that founding Director of Harvard University's Executive Program in National and International Security. Among his publications are Religion, the Missing Dimension of Statecraft (Oxford, 1994) and his more recent award-winning book, Religion, Terror, and Error: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Challenge of Spiritual Engagement (Praeger, 2011). In 2008, he was identified in Christianity Today as the "Father of Faith-Based Diplomacy." No website An award-winning author, Douglas M. Johnston, Jr., is President Emeritus and founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy (ICRD). He is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration and a PhD in Political Science from Harvard University. He has served in senior positions in government, the military, and the private sector, including six years at Harvard where he taught international affairs and was founding director of the University's Executive Program in National and International Security. Prior to ICRD, Dr. Johnston was Executive Vice President and COO of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.