Fragile

Fragile is a captivating and often humorous peek behind the scenes at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, revealing an often-fragile bilateral relationship between two countries. It was not hard to figure out the poor soul had departed this life swiftly, judging from the obviously fatal bullet hole in his head. He probably never imagined this would be his last robbery attempt. That well-known phrase about bringing a knife to a gunfight could not be more fitting in this case. The would-be robber's hand still clutched the knife he was going to use. And how could he have thought that his would-be victim—here in the centre of Pretoria's business district, of all places in the world—would turn out to be an FBI agent? The local robber didn't stand a chance. The missing top half of his head evidenced the predictable outcome, courtesy of a bullet from a U.S. embassy-issued Glock 19. Fragile offers an intriguing tour through the inner sanctum of the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria. In this scathing selection of stories that have never before been shared, the author grants a rare opportunity to learn about the fragile relationship between South Africa and the U.S. Recounting his years spent working for the U.S. Embassy, the author covers everything from internal documents, details on cross-governmental spats, and some things that no Embassy would wish to see in the public domain. You had to be there to believe it.