Ludwig "lu" Rudel

Agent for Change in International Development Ludwig "lu" Rudel

Lu Rudel describes his unique experiences with US foreign economic aid programs during some of the most dramatic international events since World War II. These include Iran after the fall of Mosaddegh (1956 to 1960); Turkey after the military coup of 1960 to the start of the Cuba Missile crisis; India after the death of Nehru (1965 to 1970); and Pakistan following the withdrawal of the Soviet military from Afghanistan in 1988. These experiences lead him to draw some important lessons with respect to the conduct and effectiveness of foreign aid. After retirement in 1980 he launched a second career, applying lessons learned from his work in international development to creation of a thousand acre land development and resort in rural Appalachia. His experiences over the following thirty years as an entrepreneur track the relentless growth of government regulations and the disappearance of community support institutions such as local banks, now being replaced by mega-banks. Finally, he examines global trends of the past eighty years in four critical areas of change affecting our lives - population growth, science and technology, economic systems and political structures - to draw some surprising conclusions and projections. Volume Two focuses on family life in the US Foreign Service and his extensive travels. Included are revealing descriptions of seven short-term assignments in China, Mozambique, Latvia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, undertaken after his retirement from the US Foreign Service.