Foreign Service Reading List

If you want to join the U.S. Foreign Service or are interested in learning more about how the American foreign policy machine works from the inside, this list contains some valuable reading.

Foreign Service Life

Inside the Foreign Service Machine

Other Recommended Reading

Preparing for the Foreign Service Officer Test

This section is based on the State Department’s official suggested reading list, which is current as of August 2013.

Current Affairs

  • Periodicals such as U.S. News and World Report, The Economist, Time, The Atlantic, Newsweek, Forbes, The New Yorker
  • A major daily newspaper such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times
  • Journals such as Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy, and The New York Review of Books

English Usage

United States (culture, foreign policy, history, politics)

World History and Geography

Consular and Immigration

Economics and Public Policy

Management and Human Behavior

Public Affairs and the Media

Computer Applications