The Ambassadors Son by Mike Takieddine

The Ambassador’s Son is my debut memoir. I grew up in embassies across the globe as the son of a Lebanese ambassador. From Moscow to Mexico City and Cairo to London and the United States, my parents, an older sister, and I watched from a rarified precipice as the contemporary conflicts of the Middle East unfolded. In 1956, at the height of Nasser’s rise in Egypt, my father made a dangerous decision. He agreed to smuggle valuables out of Egypt in the diplomatic pouch for a wealthy Egyptian family. Like tumblers in a lock, my family and the Egyptian family became entwined for the next three decades. Their son became my best friend as we attended Oxford together. We each emigrated to the United States, eventually joining forces in business, and walking with each other through joys, conflict and tragedies. Business, gambling, and loyalty further bound our two families through corporate takeovers, an epic love story, as well as rescues in war-ravaged Beirut . . . until all of it unraveled.