In Friendly Fires, Volumes I and II, Bob and Barbara Pringle describe their lives during Bob’s assignments to six US Embassies in Asia and Africa over three decades. In addition to pre-Foreign Service PhD research in Sarawak, Malaysia, these volumes cover tours in Indonesia, the Philippines, Burkina Faso, Papua New Guinea (plus Solomon Islands and Vanuatu), Mali (where Bob was the US Ambassador) and South Africa. Their story makes the case that although accompanying spouses, whether wife or husband, are not paid, their partnership adds an invaluable, underrated component to US diplomacy.

The Pringles explain in detail how such a partnership works. Different in temperament and skills, they complemented each other in learning about the countries where they lived and building bridges to new friends from all walks of life. Despite dangers and discomforts the family encountered throughout the years–planes making flat landings, spiders in hotel rooms, thick blowing dust as a third element, and bouts of malaria–luck played its fickle part, and coups d’ tat and serious health issues missed them. With their two children, they enjoyed their diplomatic years, and the memories they gained were for life.