Retief is a Diplomatic Service agent in the distant future, except mysteriously the diplomatic scene in the far future seems to resemble world politics in the 1950s and 1960s. Career diplomats constantly attempt to surrender to alien powers, only for Retief to take decisive action, win the girl, and save the world. Mostly, the series is a witty and well-written satire of the U.S. State Department as it attempts to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory time and again only for Retief to foil their efforts and put they human confederacy on top. Here’s a link to audio of some of the stories (not professionally narrated): https://archive.org/details/the-retief-stories-vol-1-by-keith-laumer
Thanks very much.