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Synopsis
Product DescriptionExplores the relationship between his complex personality -- furtive, brilliant, conspiratorial, prone to power struggles, charming yet at times deceitful -- & the foreign policy he pursued. Draws on interviews with Kissinger as well as 150 other sources, including Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, H. R. Haldeman, former South Vietnam Pres. Nguyen Van Thieu, Russian diplomats, cabinet colleagues, childhood friends, disillusioned aides, & business clients. Makes use of many of Kissinger's private papers, personal letters, recorded telephone conversations, his desk diaries & those of various officials, memos of classified meetings, & transcripts of FBI wiretaps. Photos.
Review
The fullest account of Kissinger's life and career to date, other than for his memoirs, this massive biography provides plenty of ammunition for the former Secretary of State's supporters and detractors. Growing up in Nazi Germany as an Orthodox Jew, Kissinger faced beatings and virulent anti-Semitism, and in Isaacson's view these burdened him with lifelong feelings of insecurity and distrust, as well as a yearning for stability and order. Isaacson, assistant managing editor of Time , sees Kissinger as the foremost American negotiator of this century, but one whose furtive, conspiratorial, at times deceitful personality shaped his conservative realpolitik and diplomatic maneuvering. He maintains that Kissinger's foreign policy, rooted in stealth and surprise, mirrored and reinforced the darker side of his increasingly jealous patron, President Nixon, and goes on to reveal how Chief of Staff Alexander Haig undercut his rival. He also pierces the secretive world of Kissinger's lucrative, globetrotting post-White House career as a business consultant. A spooky, engrossing portrait of the only European-style realist ever to guide U.S. foreign policy. Photos. --Publishers Weekly
Book Details
Published
March 1, 2001
Publisher
DIANE Publishing Company
Pages
893
ISBN
9780788196676