Theater's the art of performance. The audience is captivated, enthralled, awed, uplifted or subdued by the chemistry of visual spectacle, dialogue, interactions, sound, and display. There may be a message or, as in the case of the circus and sport, the arousal of virtuoso performance is what matters.

Cohen tells engagingly many stories illustrating the theater of diplomacy. Churchill's `iron curtain' speech, the signing of the Franco-German Friendship Treaty by de Gaulle and Adenauer, President Nixon's visit to China, Gandhi's negotiation with the British Vice-Regent wearing only the loin cloth, Anwar Sadat's visit to Israel, President Kennedy's speech in Berlin declaring `ich bin ein Berliner', Pope John Paul II's historic visit to Poland-this is a sample of the author's collection. He organizes his material under headings such as charisma, body language, costume, settings, role definition, status, ceremony, and ritual. The conduct of diplomats is regulated by an elaborate protocol and etiquette whose advantage is to create a common ground across very different cultures and political aspirations. One of its effects is that slight variations from standard form sends a message; awareness of this enables diplomats to make subtle statements whose meaning, should it be convenient, can be disavowed.