Copyright by Gregory Krauss 2007 - The University of Texas at Austin

Chapter 2. Early Career Impact (1941-1961)
In High on Foggy Bottom, Charles Frankel’s humorous memoir of his two
years as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs between
1965 and 1967, Frankel writes that in a large bureaucratic organization such as the
State Department, it becomes quite difficult for officials to gauge their effectiveness.
“A man launches an action on the bureaucratic sea,” he writes, “[b]ut he is never
there, where the action comes to shore and where people have to live with its
consequences.” 1
The impact of any State Department official on historical events is difficult to
judge. Foreign policy is made collectively, and, as Frankel suggests, the
consequences of a decision are not always readily apparent. Furthermore, a variety of
forces shape history, making any one individual’s impact difficult to discern. Even
the impact of a diplomat’s contact with a foreign government, although easy to
attribute to a particular diplomat, can be difficult to assess. In George Lister’s case,
assessing his impact is no less difficult—especially in the early part of his career,
when the historical record is scarce.
Early Life
Born in Chicago in 1913, George Lister was raised in New York City. 2
Lister’s parents were separated, and Lister’s mother struggled to support him and his
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