State Department Diaries

This DipNote diary by James Liddle, a desk officer in the State Department's Africa bureau on his time in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo is really well-written and powerful. I just wish they'd published it in installments, instead of all at once--it's a long read, but well worth the investment of time. I think these kinds of projects are extremely useful, because they don't assume that people know everything the government does. They open up government without being condescending, or without simply focusing on trouble-shooting or frequently asked questions.