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Advanced Praise for the Book iii
3. Columbus' New World: The Bahamas 55 Advance Praise for the Book"This book is three quite different - and quite wonderful - things. It is first of all a political-cultural travelogue by a professor who took advantage of a semester lecturing aboard ship to acquire penetrating insights into a dozen nations from the Caribbean south and westward to the Sea of Japan. Second, it is a richly illustrated essay on globalization - what the author calls 'glocalization' - vividly brought to life by his first-hand experience. Thirdly, it is confirmation to those who know Patrick Mendis of his extraordinary devotion to the best of the American ethos he adopted - and enriched - in an impressive career since arriving as a student from Sri Lanka. His book deserves a wide American audience." Professor Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Professor of Political Science Emeritus at MIT, former U.S. State Department and White House's National Security Council official, and author most recently of Accidental Encounters With History "Patrick Mendis - born in Sri Lanka, educated in America, now truly a citizen of the world - has an infectious enthusiasm for the diversity he has experienced. His informal glimpses of peoples and policies, of life and work, in a dozen countries show just how various and vibrant 'globalization' really is." Ambassador Harlan Cleveland, President Emeritus "The dominant trend in international relations is undoubtedly globalization, integrating the world politically and economically, but bringing its benefits unevenly to the people of the world. There is no better equipped scholar and researcher of this topic than Patrick Mendis who was born and raised in a developing country and now lives in the heart of the developed world. Trained in the discipline of geography, Dr. Mendis' book is a multi-disciplinary analysis that is both stimulating and eminently readable." Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala, Senior Adviser to the President of Sri Lanka; Chair, United Nations Unviersity Council; former Undersecretary General of the United Nations; and former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States "Professor Patrick Mendis clearly illustrates the interconnectivity and complexity of globalization in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These essays reflect his eclectic academic and professional experience, including perceptive observations while teaching in the NATO countries and a United Nations study tour in the Middle East. Above all, the analysis radiates his firm belief in the importance of freedom and democracy to human progress. In these pages one learns how globalization and freedom enable and sustain international peace." Dr. Michael B. Graham, Vice President, The U.S. Institute of Peace and former U.S. State Department official "Rabindranath Tagore once said, 'With your mind intent, cross this sea of chaos. And sail to that shore of new creation!' This book certainly helps us to reach the shore of new creation where globalisation will be a blessing for all." Professor M. S. Swaminathan, President, Pugwash Conferences on Science & World Affairs; Chair, National Commission on Farmers, Government of India; and Chair, The M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai "Globalization is the wave of the future. Some fear and/or loath it for as Mendis writes in his book, '. . . globalization is an extent of Americanization.' Whether this is true or not, the perception is very much out there and it is a negative one to many. The counter is to embrace globalization, as its association with the US and Western Europe is not necessarily a bad thing and it doesn't spell the end of independent non-Western cultures. In fact, it can be a phenomenon that enriches cultures as it enriches people around the world. Mendis' work helps to take the fear out of 'globalization' through its understanding and thus its eventual acceptance." Professor Harold J. Kearsley, Director, Master of Arts in Diplomacy Program at Norwich University "As an American diplomat and scholar, Patrick presents a unique interdisciplinary and intercultural analysis of globalization in the Caribbean, Latin American, African, and Asian countries. Every American should read these stories to learn more about ourselves than other countries. After traveling to and working in more than 70 countries, this perceptive author tells you why." Dr. Jerry Ice, CEO and President, The USDA Graduate School, U.S. Department of Agriculture "When he was 18 years old Patrick Mendis left his home in Sri Lanka to attend the American high school year in the AFS student exchange program. A number of years later, he returned to the U.S. for further study at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and the Humphrey Institute. Dr. Mendis continues his life's journey as recorded in the pages of Glocalization: The Human Side of Globalization as If the Washington Consensus Mattered. His courage and thirst for knowledge as a teenager has continued into his adult life. With his wife Cheryl and two children, Gamini and Samantha, the family has traveled to more than 30 countries. Dr. Mendis continues to contribute to increasing understanding among the people of our world as an educator and public servant. The diversity of experiences written about in this book and the richness of Dr. Mendis' life shine through in these pages of shared human aspiration. That courageous 18-year old boy still lives in Dr. Mendis and we are all better for it." Alex J. Plinio, President, AFS Intercultural Programs Inc., New York "Glocalization: The Human Side of Globalization as If the Washington Consensus Mattered is truly an adventure of ideas and information. Dr. Patrick Mendis takes the reader through a compelling and compassionate voyage of discovery as he sets sail to the winds of globalization. The vast scale and scope of this work is a feast for the mind and the eyes!" Professor Debashis Chatterjee, Chair, Center for Leadership and Human Values at the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, and Author of Leading Consciously "Professor Patrick Mendis has produced an eye-opening and insightful book about different cultures and globalization. The book is a must-have for those who are working on local, national, and international issues regardless of one's profession or specialization. It is truly an inspiring work by Professor Mendis, to whom I am also grateful for having invaluable discussion on various issues on ethnic diversity, international development, and poverty alleviation during our graduate studies at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. The book will stimulate intellectual curiosity to further explore a host of challenging issues in globalization, which he calls 'glocalization.'" Professor Miyuki Inaba, Faculty of Languages and Cultures, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan "America's fundamental illiteracy about globalization represents a grave threat to its continued positive unfolding, for no nation does more to encourage its spread and no nation can do more to torpedo its future through bad political choices. Patrick Mendis' book helps much to combat that ignorance by providing a traveler's-eye-view of how this unprecedented change wave is reformatting the planet. We can't get enough of this sort of education." Professor Thomas P.M. Barnett, Author of The Pentagon's New Map and Blueprint for Action, U.S. Naval War College, Baker Center Distinguished Scholar at University of Tennessee "Patrick Mendis is a master teacher, an excellent writer, and a world citizen. He has reissued and revised a book that brings a human face to globalization and that, next to extensive world travel, provides as much insight as one can get on the topic. Read it for education; read it for fun; read it to help a good cause; whatever you do, read it." Professor Shelton L. Williams, President, The Osgood Center for International Studies, Washington D.C. and author of Summer of 66 Profile of Dr. Patrick Mendis
Prior to joining the U.S. State Department, Dr. Mendis was a graduate military professor through the University of Maryland for the U.S. Department of Defense in the NATO and the Pacific Commands, for which he received the University of Maryland's Stanley J. Drazek Teaching Excellence Award. He taught MBA/MPA and undergraduate international relations courses at every major military installation in England, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, and Turkey. As a visiting professor, Dr. Mendis also taught in China through the University of Maryland and in the former Soviet Union through the University of Minnesota. At the State Department, he received the Meritorious Honor Award and the Benjamin Franklin Award for his interagency leadership, the management of international educational and cultural programs, and UN negotiations during the Clinton and Bush Administrations. He is a member of the governing board of the USDA Graduate School - an appointment by the Bush Administration. Before joining the Maryland faculty in 1997, he served as a lecturer in international relations and a visiting scholar in applied economics at the University of Minnesota since 1990. Dr. Mendis also worked at the Minnesota House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the World Bank, and the United Nations. For his eclectic contributions and accomplishments, he was recognized with numerous honors, including the Hubert H. Humphrey Alumni Award for Outstanding Leadership, the University of Minnesota President's Leadership and Service Award, and the Governor Harold Stassen Award for United Nations Affairs. He earned his BS degree in business administration and economics (First Class Honors) from the University of Sri Jayawardenepura in Sri Lanka, an MA in international development and foreign affairs from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, and a PhD in geography/applied economics from the University of Minnesota. He completed his postdoctoral training at Columbia, Harvard, and Yale Universities. Dr. Mendis is a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, a life member of the Society for International Development, and listed in Who's Who in America. He serves on the editorial boards of Energy & Environment in the United Kingdom and The Public Manager in the United States. As an AFS exchange scholar from Sri Lanka, Dr. Mendis graduated from Perham High School in northern Minnesota. He and his Scandinavian wife, another AFS exchange student from Willmar, Minnesota to Japan, met at the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. With their two teenage children, they live in the Washington D.C. area but consider humorist Garrison Keillor's mythical "Lake Wobegon" in Minnesota their home where "all the children are above average." E-mail: patrickmendis@comcast.net [Top] |
After his government service at the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Defense, and State, Dr. Patrick Mendis returned to academia. He served as a visiting professor of economics and public policy at the University of Pittsburgh's Semester at Sea program during the 2004 spring voyage before joining Norwich University to teach in its MA in Diplomacy program.