James Eugene Goodby (born December 20, 1929) is an author and former American diplomat. Goodby was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. in 1951 and served as a second lieutenant in the Air Force during the Korean War from 1952–53. He attended the University of Michigan (1951–52) and Harvard University (1953–54). Goodby served with the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Boston in 1951. After the war he became a Foreign Service Officer and remained in the Foreign Service until his retirement in 1989.