A Nation of Sheep - William J Lederer torrent

While elements of this book are clearly dated (generalizations about large groups of people--like saying that Koreans make crafty thieves--are no longer appropriate), it's central message is still important today: US citizens and their government need to be well-informed about world events and truly understand the effects of our foreign policy on the hearts and minds of common people throughout the world. It is a devastating attack on America's foreign officials and her foreign policy since the end of the WWII, it brilliantly exposes the inefficacy of America's foreign aid policy in South East Asia.

About the author:
William Julius Lederer, Jr. was an American author.
He was a US Naval Academy graduate in 1936. His first appointment was as the junior officer of a river gunboat on the Yangtze River.
His best selling work, 1958's The Ugly American, was one of several novels co-written with Eugene Burdick. Disillusioned with the style and substance of America's diplomatic efforts in Southeast Asia, Lederer and Burdick openly sought to demonstrate their belief that American officials and civilians could make a substantial difference in Southeast Asian politics if they were willing to learn local languages, follow local customs and employ regional military tactics. However, if American policy makers continued to ignore the logic behind these lessons, Southeast Asia would fall under Soviet or Chinese Communist influence