Book Description
With the publication of her landmark bestseller Paris 1919, Margaret MacMillan was praised as “a superb writer who can bring history to life” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Now she brings her extraordinary gifts to one of the most important subjects today–the relationship between the United States and China–and one of the most significant moments in modern history. In February 1972, Richard Nixon, the first American president ever to visit China, and Mao Tse-tung, the enigmatic Communist dictator, met for an hour in Beijing. Their meeting changed the course of history and ultimately laid the groundwork for the complex relationship between China and the United States that we see today.
That monumental meeting in 1972–during what Nixon called “the week that changed the world”–could have been brought about only by powerful leaders: Nixon himself, a great strategist and a flawed human being, and Mao, willful and ruthless. They were assisted by two brilliant and complex statesmen, Henry Kissinger and Chou En-lai. Surrounding them were fascinating people with unusual roles to play, including the enormously disciplined and unhappy Pat Nixon and a small-time Shanghai actress turned monstrous empress, Jiang Qing. And behind all of them lay the complex history of two countries, two great and equally confident civilizations: China, ancient and contemptuous yet fearful of barbarians beyond the Middle Kingdom, and the United States, forward-looking and confident, seeing itself as the beacon for the world.
Nixon thought China could help him get out of Vietnam. Mao needed American technology and expertise to repair the damage of the Cultural Revolution. Both men wanted an ally against an aggressive Soviet Union. Did they get what they wanted? Did Mao betray his own revolutionary ideals? How did the people of China react to this apparent change in attitude toward the imperialist Americans? Did Nixon make a mistake in coming to China as a supplicant? And what has been the impact of the visit on the United States ever since?
Weaving together fascinating anecdotes and insights, an understanding of Chinese and American history, and the momentous events of an extraordinary time, this brilliantly written book looks at one of the transformative moments of the twentieth century and casts new light on a key relationship for the world of the twenty-first century.
Margaret MacMillan is the author of Women of the Raj and Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World, which won the Duff Cooper Prize, the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History, a Silver Medal for the Arthur Ross Book Award of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Governor General’s Literary Award for nonfiction. It was selected by the editors of The New York Times as one of the best books of 2002. Currently the provost of Trinity College and a professor of history at the University of Toronto, MacMillan takes up the position of warden of St. Antony’s College, Oxford, in July 2007. She is an officer of the Order of Canada, a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and a senior fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto.
Customer Reviews:
Intriguing book about a historic event.......2007-07-09
Margaret MacMillan, previously known for her book on the Paris peace negotations ending the first world war, has given us an interesting look at Nixon's historic trip to China in 1972.
The trip was only a week in duration, and hardly seems worthy of an entire manuscript unless the historian is able to provide a comprehensive analysis of the ramifications of Nixon's visit. MacMillan, however, does not provide us with this evaluation.
She writes a rich story, filled with wonderful images and colorful characters, but fails to fully analyze the significance of Nixon's journey. Her book provides us with a nice portrait of Mao Tse-Tung, the Chinese leader whom Nixon met with (only once) during his journey to China, Henry Kissinger, Nixon's national security advisor, and Chou En-Lai, Kissinger's primary contact in Beijing.
MacMillan's details about the trip are amazing, and certainly indicative of strong research abilities - she profiles Nixon in such a way that his paranoia and self doubt are on full display (see chapters 1 and 2 for a nice discussion on how nervous Nixon was as he prepared for the meetings). She also throws in lively quips to remind us just how human the participants were (giving us an image of Nixon parading around his hotel room in his undergarments, or a request made by Nixon for the phone number of ladies in a black book - not for himself, but for Kissinger). This is the highlight of her writing, and she does a fantastic job of giving us the details that allow us to remember the participants as people rather than just politicians.
Overall, however, the book is incomplete - it just does not explain why the meetings changed the world in enough depth to justify the title ("Nixon and Mao: The Week that changed the world"). I recommend the book to anyone looking for a biographical evaluation of the participants in these historic talks, but if one is seeking a profound scholarly analysis of the topic, this is not the right book to read.
Everything included.......2007-06-15
The book is quite complete and covers all the aspects of nixon's trip to china. She remains however a litle too factual.
Very interesting details and anecdotes.
Only Nixon could go to China.......2007-06-04
This is Margaret MacMillan's second book about an event that "Changed The World", and one hopes that she's going to find a new subtitle soon. How long before she runs out of signature 20th century events, and resorts to chronicling more frivolous historical footnotes like "Coolidge Goes To Havana"?
All kidding aside, MacMillan does a worthy job of recreating the mid-Cold War and late Vietnam era of President Nixon's first term, which is perhaps less well known than events that occurred in and after June 1972. "Nixon and Mao" takes place during Nixon's trip to China in February 1972, while frequently stepping back in time to chronicle four decades' worth of Sino-American relations, as well as goings-on in China, Indochina and the Soviet Union during the earlier decades of the Cold War.
The four principals here are Nixon and Kissinger on the U.S. side, and an ailing Chairman Mao as aided by the more vibrant Chou En-Lai for the Chinese. It's Chou who benefits the most from this analysis, and he's the most interesting character in this book: both beholden to and smitten with a failing political system, yet shrewd and quick-witted enough to arguably get the better of Kissinger, his U.S. counterpart, during the week-long debating sessions.
As a writer not from the U.S., MacMillan brings a different perspective than had this book been written by an American historian or ideologue. For example, her elevation of President Clinton as a model of foreign policy isn't necessarily wrong -- it's just not an idea that's going to catch on here in the U.S. until both the current set of prevailing political beliefs, and the overtly opinion-driven nature of current TV journalism, have a chance to evolve and turn over.
The book's structure is logical, and therefore a bit frustrating. The author can't tell her story in a straight timeline beginning with the Long March -- otherwise Nixon wouldn't get to China until page 250. Therefore, she chooses to open each chapter with a two-page description of events during Nixon's week in China, before jumping back in time for the rest of the chapter to explain how the two countries and their principals got to the that point. This means that it takes a long while to generate any momentum from the 1972 scenes. I wonder if MacMillan first tried to write this book in alternating chapters before settling on her final approach.
The book's conclusion is also perhaps a bit too quick, as the author touches on but doesn't really highlight China's ongoing emergence on the international and financial scenes. Spending more time on China in 2007 rather than on Nixon's well-chronicled disgrace would have been an effective counterpoint to the earlier scenes showing how technologically backward and ideologically stunted China really was in 1972.
However, there's little doubt that without Nixon's trip in 1972, China would not be where it is today. What forces would have prevailed in China had Mao and Chou both died before opening up their country to the West? MacMillan, amusingly, shows how much the world was changed by Nixon's trip, by concluding her narrative 500 years from now, with a quote from the post-Cold War science-fiction movie "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country".
The book to read about Nixon's visit to China.......2007-05-31
Richard Nixon's trip to the Peoples' Republic of China in 1972, after nearly 25 years of silence between the US and Communist China, was a worldwide historic event. Of course, it started the long thaw between the US and the PRC, but it also had repercussions around the world: it worried the Soviets, who pursued SALT and détente with more interest in the aftermath, it terrified the leadership on Taiwan who rightly believed they were being abandoned by the US, it emboldened the North Vietnamese, who felt they had been betrayed by their ally. It raised Nixon's approval rating significantly and contributed to his landslide reelection in 1972.
It's also a story that has never been fully told because of security concerns in both the US and the PRC. But now we have Margaret MacMillan's detailed history of Nixon's visit with lots of historical context to make it understandable: the careers of Nixon, Kissinger, Mao, and Zhou Enlai are profiled in some detail; the state of US opinion in the aftermath of WWII is described, and the history of China in the 19th and 20th centuries is explained. There's also a concluding chapter that follows the story after the visit through full normalization of relations with the PRC in the late 1970s and even beyond.
The author's research appears to have been very detailed, although of course the American point of view is more fully explicated, since access to Chinese source materials is still restricted.
I do have a few minor complaints: the book skips back and forth between Nixon's visit and the historical context repeatedly, making it hard to follow the logic of events in a few spots. And, the author seemed to repeat herself when describing the Chinese obsession with Taiwan, although the repetition did bring home the fact that Taiwan was far more important to the Chinese than Nixon and Kissinger believed initially.
Nixon has said that he will be remembered for 2 events: Watergate and his opening of relations with China. This is the book to read if you want to find out about the second of these.
Really Did Change the World.......2007-05-25
Very interesting - highly recommended. An inside view of a diplomatic event of far reaching significance for the 21st Century.
Book Description
A master spy's memoir of playing the game in the most strategically influential country in 1960s Africa.
Larry Devlin arrived as the new chief of station for the CIA in the Congo five days after the country had declared its independence, the army had mutinied, and governmental authority had collapsed. As he crossed the Congo River in an almost empty ferry boat, all he could see were lines of people trying to travel the other way--out of the Congo. Within his first two weeks he found himself on the wrong end of a revolver as militiamen played Russian-roulette, Congo style, with him.
During his first year, the charismatic and reckless political leader, Patrice Lumumba, was murdered and Devlin was widely thought to have been entrusted with (he was) and to have carried out (he didn't) the assassination. Then he saved the life of Joseph Desire Mobutu, who carried out the military coup that presaged his own rise to political power. Devlin found himself at the heart of Africa, fighting for the future of perhaps the most strategically influential country on the continent, its borders shared with eight other nations. He met every significant political figure, from presidents to mercenaries, as he took the Cold War to one of the world's hottest zones. This is a classic political memoir from a master spy who lived in wildly dramatic times.
Customer Reviews:
CoS Congo.......2007-08-09
An excellent biography, discusses what happened during the Cold War in the Congo from his point of view. I found it an enjoyable read.
Exciting times.......2007-07-05
A good book giving an overall flavor of the Congo in the early 60's. It would be nice if Devlin had filled in more details however perhaps this is proscribed in his publishing agreement (I presume that he had to run this through the CIA before publishing it). You do get an idea of just what a CIA COS does to try to guide events to follow US policy. He's rather blase about the physical risks of operating in an unstable environment although maybe this is because he survived to tell the tale. I don't think that I would have my family at my side in such an environment.
Charts his many encounters and is a top pick.......2007-06-17
Author Larry Devlin arrived as the new chief of station for the CIA in the Congo five days after the country declared its independence, the army mutinied, and the government had collapsed: as he entered the country, streams of residents were fleeing. During his first year he was accused of murdering a charismatic political leader, saved the life of the man who carried out the military coup, and found himself confronting unheard-of challenges in Africa. CHIEF OF STATION, CONGO charts his many encounters and is a top pick especially recommended for college-level and military holdings strong in African culture and history.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
-.......2007-06-12
A little too general, very maddening that he left out so many details. But a necessary read for those interested in the Congo in the 60's
History Lessons.......2007-06-07
This book rewards its readers with good deal of information on a variety of subjects. It undoubtedly provides a very accurate account of the struggle of the former Belgium Congo to become a variable nation state. In the course of doing this, its author provides a plausible description of the chaotic condition of an imploding nation state and its leading political players of the period, including the controversial Patrice Lumumba and the man who turned out to be his chief rival Sese Seko Mobutu. Finally the book opens a window on how the U.S -Soviet Union Clod War rivalry played out in an newly independent African state like the Congo.
On a rather different level, Larry Devlin provides a good explanation of what a pro-active CIA Station Chief (COS) of 1960 did to earn his keep. One can carry away a good deal of information about good `tradecraft', the use of non-official cover (NOC) agents, and the vital need for a close relationship between the COS and the U.S. Ambassador. For a long period Devlin was not only COS Kinshasa (Leopoldville), but also the only CIA representative in the Congo. As a result, he discloses quite a bit about the art and craft of recruiting and maintaining `agents' in the field. Although virtually all memoirs written by former intelligence folks tend to be somewhat self-serving, from this book it is clear that Devlin really was good at his job and did his best to protect the national security interests of U.S. and equally important to help the Congolese build a viable and independent nation state. That in the end the Congo continues to be a near failed state was due to factors well beyond Devlin's control.
The problem then as now of course is that a really good CIA operative like Devlin and a really poor operatives are treated pretty much the same way by CIA. The system is really designed to homogenize everyone into the same bland blend. Also it is clear that CIA of 2007 would never allow a COS the kind of freedom of action that Devlin had in 1960.
Anyone with an interest in Africa or the CIA or both ought to find this well written and informative book fascinating.
Book Description
Does America, as George W. Bush has proclaimed, have a special mission, derived from God, to bring liberty and democracy to the world? How much influence does the Christian right have over U.S. foreign policy? And how should America deal with violent Islamist extremists?
Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state and bestselling author of Madam Secretary, offers a thoughtful and often surprising look at the role of religion in shaping America's approach to the world. Drawing upon her experiences while in office and her own deepest beliefs about morality, the United States, and the present state of world affairs, a woman noted for plain speaking offers her thoughts about the most controversial topics of our time.
Customer Reviews:
Ultimate Answer.......2007-10-06
I must confess I have been following her public life since she became Secretary of State. I am her most avid reader having read her memoir six times. I ended my last reading on that book almost two weeks ago, and I finished reading the mighty and the almighty in five days last friday. To the point, I expected her second volume not to be a research work, it seems as though if I had to talk about the Middle East in school, this book would definitely be my guidance on that matter.
Now in all seriousness, I expected this book to be more about her accomplishments in government, and her sharp insights regarding recent events. This book could've just as easily be called 'The Mighty, The Almighty and Middle East Conflicts'. Do NOT get me wrong, I am all for that, I do believe the Middle East is, will and has shaped the world in every single way. Religion must be taken seriously into account as a player in world events, definitely. I am not against the content nor the topics of this book. I just wanted it to be more 'Madeleiney', if you will.
Mrs. Albright, if you are, or someone who knows you, reading this, I want you to know I expect your third book to be the ultimate answer to today's US Government Administration failures.
An Admirable Lady!.......2007-09-16
I think very highly of Madeline Albright and respect her accomplishments very much. I feel that the book is a little difficult to read though and I had a hard time sticking with it. It is however filled with lots of facts and events that make it worth the dedication.
Return to High American Ideals.......2007-08-26
This book may be directed to the "choir," as other reviewers have noted, but even the choir needs some encouragement from time to time. We've been through a rough 8 years.
I'm with her in her final comment: "I will never accept, however, that the United States is not better than we have been these past few years; nor will I stop believing (or praying) that we will recover our balance and begin again -- and soon -- to command the world's respect, and our own."
Human beings are religious animals, and we do perceive things differently. It is important to be tolerant of the beliefs of others; many of us are seeking God the best way we know how.
Politics and religion are both valid aspects of human life, but they are not the same thing.
Intelligent work about the subtleties of foreign policy wrt religion.......2007-07-17
Ms. Albright starts the book by providing background on how Americans have best handled religion in general. She gives several quotes from the founding fathers:
"George Washington disclaimed any interest in whether people were 'Mohametans, Jews or Christians of any sect, or Atheists.' His sole concern was that they should have the right to exercise freedom of worship, expression, and thought."--Page 18.
She then almost ventures into political heresy by giving a meaningful historical-political context to the Jewish-Palestinian conflict: (I had not been aware of the extent to which power elites in the world had gotten on board the Zionist mission.)
The remainder of the book is full of background about Judaism, Christianity, but especially Islam, that few are aware of--certainly not the current gang at the helm. Well worth the read, though Ms. Albright does not appreciate, or acknowledge anyway, the role of the CIA in creating the "world of terror."
...
For my complete review of this book and for other book and movie
reviews, please visit my site [...]
Brian Wright
Copyright 2007
Terrific.......2007-07-08
A great book written by a knowledgeable person. I treasured it and have shared it with friends.
Book Description
Adam Kahane spent years working in the world's hotspots, and came away with a new understanding of how to resolve conflict in a way that seems reasonable - and doable - to all parties. The result is Solving Tough Problems. Written in a relaxed, persuasive style, this is not a "how-to" book with glib answers, but rather, a very personal story of the author's progress from a young "expert" convinced of the need to provide cold, "correct" answers to an effective facilitator of positive change - by learning how to create environments that enable new ideas and creative solutions to emerge. The book explores the connection between individual learning and institutional change, and how leaders can move beyond politeness and formal statements, beyond routine debate and defensiveness, toward deeper and more productive dialogue. Both tough and inspiring, the book explores models, technologies, and examples that foster and facilitate "dialogues of the heart."
Customer Reviews:
Listening and generative dialogue.......2006-08-14
Adam Kahane (2004) said that a friend of his told him that the old "1960s slogan `If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem' actually misses the most important about effecting change. The slogan should be, he said, `If you're not part of the problem, you can't be part of the solution.' If we cannot see how what we are doing or not doing is contributing to things being the way that they are, then logically we have no basis at all, zero leverage, for changing the ways things are--except from the outside, by persuasion or force" (pp. 83-84).
Any problem is part of a system, in other words, and if we are experiencing the problem, then we must, by definition, be a part of the problem. This book explores this concept and provides many tools and examples to help resolve conflict through deep listening and generative dialogue.
Enables deeper connections across communities.......2006-07-11
Mr. Kahane's book is the tip of the iceberg - a great start for someone looking for reflective practice that provides the skills and methods for addressing difficult challenges - individually and organizationally. The perspectives in Solving Tough Problems are from the heart, and present a valuable contribution to the growing awareness of how social technologies can provide containers for creating new realities...definitely recommended!
Jerry's review on Solving Tough Problems.......2006-03-17
At last! An easy to read book true to Bohm's vision of dialogue that will begin moving the subject from an esoteric phenomenon to a practice attainable by many. This book should not be considered as a primer on dialogue that could replace works such as "On Dialogue" or "dialogue, the art and practice of thinking together", rather it presents the author's experience in practical application of many of the concepts and principles discussed in those earlier works.
Not sure what I was expecting .......2005-12-31
I was expecting much more from this book,at times it seemed to be the author's bio instead of giving/sharing the best practices of how to go through an approach in solving difficult issues.
Building bridges.......2005-08-12
In a world beset by problems, this book offers real hope. Adam Kahane shares the techniques he has used in many of the world's trouble spots to bridge differences, establish a genuine conversation among adversaries, and create a positive future. This is not an academic book. It's based on real experience. Wherever we are called to end conflict, heal differences, and build collaboration we can learn from its lessons.
Book Description
“War no longer exists,” writes General Sir Rupert Smith, powerfully reminding us that the clash of mass national armies—the system of war since Napoleon—will never occur again. Instead, he argues in this timely book, we must be prepared to adapt tactics to each conflict, or lose the ability to protect ourselves and our way of life.
General Smith draws on his vast experience as a commander in the 1991 Gulf War, in Bosnia, Kosovo and Northern Ireland, to give us a probing analysis of modern war and to call for radically new military thinking. Why, he asks, do we use armed force to solve our political problems? And how is it that our armies can win battles but fail to solve the problems?
From Iraq to the Balkans, and from Afghanistan to Chechnya, Smith charts a stream of armed interventions that have failed to deliver on promises of resolution. He demonstrates why today’s conflicts must be understood as intertwined political and military events. He makes clear why the current one-size-fits-all model of total war, fought out on battlefields, that politicians still cling to must be abandoned in favor of new strategies that take into account the fact that wars are now fought among civilian populations. And he offers a compelling new model for how to fight these battles—and secure our world.
Clear, incisive and provocative, The Utility of Force will fundamentally change the way we understand war.
Customer Reviews:
An essential perspective on the use of force around the world.......2007-10-08
General Rupert Smith has written an essential introduction here to the problems and paradoxes of modern warfare. I recommend it very highly. I especially liked Smith's analysis that in today's wars information is much more important than firepower.
The book does have a few omissions. Most important, I felt it had too little to say on the role of natural resources, overpopulation, and environmental degradation in causing war and civil unrest around the world. There is a substantial argument to be made that the U.S. military has become little more than a global oil-protection service. Changing the American lifestyle from fossil-fuel to renewable energy sources could make a substantial contriubution to the peace and security of the world. Such a transition might well reduce U.S. economic growth; however, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Economic growth sounds great--a rising tide lifts all boats--but it is necessary to keep in mind how it is calculated. Economic growth is generally measured by GDP, which as a measure of well-being is so inaccurate as to be almost laughable. GDP is measured by counting up what is spent on various items. This works more or less OK if you're counting food bought by hungry people, but very poorly indeed if you're counting money spent on bombs or automatic rifles, or on parking garages for rich people's cars. GDP is not corrected for increasing population, pollution, exhaustion of natural resources, or declining quality of life. More accurate measures of economic growth, such as the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare or Genuine Progress Indicator, tend to show that there has been little or no genuine economic growth in the U.S. since the 1970s. For more on this, see McKibben's book "Deep Economy," Daly's "Beyond Growth," Brian Czech's "Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train," or Jared Diamond's "Collapse."
In Agreement with the Five Star Reviewers.......2007-10-05
And not much to add to some excellent reviews that are already posted.
This guy knows his stuff and has done some excellent analysis providing us a chronological exposition of "industrial war" from its Naploeanic birth in mass and operational mobility. Sidelighting the defeat at Jena which gave birth to Clausewitz as French POW and his thinking on war along with the development of the Prussian General Staff that developed into the best modern field army of World War Two. I agree some editing would help the book, but it stands on its own without need of apology. Another title to add to the new military academy curriculum and foreign policy wonks reading list. Bravo.
A "Next Generation War" Concept That Makes Sense.......2007-07-20
Rupert Smith reviews the last 200 years of military history and clearly defines the nature of interstate, industrial war. He correctly identifies the end of the utility of such war as August 5th, 1945 - the day before the Enola Gay dropped her atomic bomb - and goes on to describe the dissonance between defense planning and actual conflicts in the ensuing 60-odd years. He uses the concept of War Among the People as an umbrella concept to describe the actions of guerrillas, revolutionaries, terrorists and other non-state actors; and identifies the people as the key objective in post-industrial war.
He believes that failure to understand the change in the nature and purpose of conflict - on the part of both policy makers and the military - has been at the root of the failure of nations, alliances and coalitions to effectively employ force over the past half-century.
Smith goes on to identify a model for political/military interaction in fighting War Among the People. The model itself is revolutionary, in that it departs from the concept of handing diplomatically insoluble problems over to the military and calls for the employment of diplomacy, force, aid and assistance as an integrated effort. In effect, he calls for 'force structuring' which would include elements of several cabinet departments - not just the military services - under a single theater commander (who probably would not be an officer of any service).
Smith's work is a useful antidote to some of the less disciplined and more technologically oriented discussions of "Fourth Generation Warfare" and "Transformation" that have appeared over the past few years. It is an important work - one that should be required reading for all of the 2008 Presidential candidates.
The book is, as others have noted, not an 'easy' read. It certainly could have been improved by better/more editing; but the content is more than worth the 'slog'.
To Be Fair I Only Made It Through 50 Pages.......2007-07-11
I heard about this book when Jon Stewart did an interview with Rupert Smith, who is a former high-ranking general in the British army and NATO Commander. I was intrigued by what the general had to say about the future of warfare. Namely peace being ushered in through policy and diplomatic relationships. And how those two factored into "force". Essentially, how and when to apply "force" in a situation. I also decided that if I'm going to explore pacifism in any detail, I should probably be well-rounded in my reading and research. Which is why I decided to pick this book up (as well as Generation Kill and Empire's Workshop). Anyway . . . all of that to say . . . that I got about 50 pages into the book before I had to put it down. The overall writing style was way to heavy on details instead of big picture philosophy of war. I also think it may have had something to do with it being written by an intelligent English man. I don't mean that in a disparaging way. He was certainly a warm and engaging person in his interview. I just think that when you intelligent people write books . . . there is a strong tendency for it to feel cold, boring, and detached. That's what I got in the first 50 pages which is why I put it down.
Coming from a seasoned general.......2007-05-08
"War no longer exists" states author/general Rupert Smith, who spent some forty years in the British Army and retired in 2002. Indeed, confrontations between mass national armies are unlikely to occur, replaced by diplomatic efforts that hold more promise than military force. Modern examples from armed interventions that have failed to deliver resolution show why modern conflicts need a different kind of analytical focus -one that blends political and military events - rather than a traditional model of warfare fought on battlefields. Coming from a seasoned general, THE UTILITY OF FORCE: THE ART OF WAR IN THE MODERN WORLD holds much hope for the modern world and is a pick not just for military libraries but for general-interest lending collections and college-level holdings strong in social issues, as well.
Amazon.com
The collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s was fraught with turmoil and political peril. That it did not end in disaster was due in no small measure to Russian president Boris Yeltsin, for all his flaws--and, insists former administration insider Strobe Talbott, to Yeltsin's partner in reform, President Bill Clinton. Before Clinton took office in 1992, he imagined that he would devote most of his energies to domestic matters, in keeping with the "It's the economy, stupid" slogan of his campaign war room. But, writes fellow Rhodes Scholar Talbott, his adviser on Russian affairs, "It became apparent that being president meant ... doing the heavy lifting in the management of relations with a giant nation that was reinventing itself and, in doing so, reinventing international politics and requiring us to reinvent American foreign policy." Though the Clinton administration took a few missteps early on, by Talbott's account the president soon rose to the historic occasion, tirelessly helping Yeltsin negotiate the difficult task of democratizing the former Communist power while contending with Yeltsin's troublesome penchant for drink and self-destruction--to say nothing of a committed political resistance on the part of disaffected members of the old guard. That things turned out reasonably well may seem amazing, given some of the incidents Talbott relates. His book offers an instructive, lively view of international diplomacy, personal politics, and the odd turns involved in changing the world. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
During the past ten years, few issues have mattered more to America’s vital interests or to the shape of the twenty-first century than Russia’s fate. To cheer the fall of a bankrupt totalitarian regime is one thing; to build on its ruins a stable democratic state is quite another. The challenge of helping to steer post-Soviet Russia-with its thousands of nuclear weapons and seething ethnic tensions-between the Scylla of a communist restoration and the Charybdis of anarchy fell to the former governor of a poor, landlocked Southern state who had won national election by focusing on domestic issues. No one could have predicted that by the end of Bill Clinton’s second term he would meet with his Kremlin counterparts more often than had all of his predecessors from Harry Truman to George Bush combined, or that his presidency and his legacy would be so determined by his need to be his own Russia hand.
With Bill Clinton at every step was Strobe Talbott, the deputy secretary of state whose expertise was the former Soviet Union. Talbott was Clinton’s old friend, one of his most trusted advisers, a frequent envoy on the most sensitive of diplomatic missions and, as this book shows, a sharp-eyed observer.
The Russia Hand is without question among the most candid, intimate and illuminating foreign-policy memoirs ever written in the long history of such books. It offers unparalleled insight into the inner workings of policymaking and diplomacy alike. With the scope of nearly a decade, it reveals the hidden play of personalities and the closed-door meetings that shaped the most crucial events of our time, from NATO expansion, missile defense and the Balkan wars to coping with Russia’s near-meltdown in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. The book is dominated by two gifted, charismatic and flawed men, Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin, who quickly formed one of the most intense and consequential bonds in the annals of statecraft. It also sheds new light on Vladimir Putin, as well as the altered landscape after September 11, 2001.
The Russia Hand is the first great memoir about war and peace in the post-cold war world.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Read to understand diplomatic delicacies........2005-11-29
I just finished the book about 15 minutes ago, so this is surely a bit of "instant feedback."
Strobe Talbott writes vividly, with candor and with a justified and well-earned political slant that keeps the reader engaged as a would be a thrill-seeking thirty-something reading a Clancy novel (I am borrowing another reviewer's analogy; by the way, this is way better than Clancy).
For anyone interested in the delicate nature of scrutinizing national security decisions, this is a must read. It offers an 'inside the Situation Room' look at the government of the United States at work. While concentrated solely on issues of the US-Russian genre, he successfully weaves other world and domestic events into the book to give the reader a sense of pace, setting and perspective.
He adequately, though unglamourously, bookends the story with the lead-in (Bush 41) to the Clinton years and the moving away from (Bush 43) a contentious, far from self-effacing eight years of transcontinental relations.
The meat of the book, a study of how presidential decisions are made through and pressed by deputy level and below members of both governments, showcases a 'half-dozen' big ticket shows that played out in the nineties, e.g. Kosovo, NATO expansion, Bosnia, and so on. With great and intense detail, Talbott recounts many and varied emotional meetings held between the world's most prominent governments.
Though certainly not faultless, this book is one of the better memoirs to come from the eight years of Clinton. It is precise, pointed and proves that the show must and will go on in American diplomacy.
Talbott's book is captivating and addictive. He writes in such a way that leaves the reader wondering whether Clinton and Yeltsin and Primakov and Gore and Chernomyrdin and 'Chris' and Sandy and Zhirinovsky and Ivanov (both of them) and Ivashov and Mamedov - Talbott drops dozens of names on the reader - are in the next room, contemplating and calculating tomorrow's continued NATO expansion.
Not just a must read, this book should be reviewed, its merits debated and defended. It is well worth it.
Subtle Diplomacy.......2004-09-02
The devil is in the details, but the "angels" call the shots (and in this story the "angels" are no angels). This is the short version of Strobe Talbott's exhaustive, intimate memoir of the transformation of US-Russian relations during the tumultuous 1990s. Bereft of the old adversarial structures of the cold war, and lacking any type of transitional plan, the diplomatic establishments of Washington and Moscow were compelled to feel their way through a stubborn morass of suspicion and ignorance and emerge with something like a policy of institutionalized cooperation.
By this account and many others it was a tough row to hoe. The meat of the book covers the period of Clinton/Yeltsin diplomacy between 1992 and 2000, a time when the Russian nation was reeling from the collapse of the Soviet Union and the social upheaval brought on by free market economic "shock treatment." National pride had suffered a series of body blows as the Soviet Empire fell apart and lost its coveted place as the "other" major power on the international stage.
In 1992, while publicly basking in cold war "victory", the US political establishment was inwardly wringing its hands over how to handle its volatile, battered, erstwhile enemy. Internally in Russia political wars continued to rage among nationalists, communists, and liberal market reformers, and it was nowhere near apparent that the nation might not suffer a political hijacking or economic meltdown which would lead the nation back down a path of despotism and isolation. This was a moment of limitless opportunity and unfathomable risk for the US and the world. The stakes were huge, and the outcome unknowable.
Enter the diplomats. Under the direction and tutelage of Mr. Talbott in this country and Yuri Mamedov in Russia, the two little armies of bureaucrats started the decade long brainstorm over nuclear arms, NATO enlargement, the worrying linkages between Russia and Iran, the disposition of Soviet era debt, and myriad other potentially explosive issues. It was no easy business, and progress was halting.
Time and again Talbott's team ran into roadblocks and obfuscation from their Russian counterparts. Some of it was related to the long Russian predisosition to hiding behind opaque bureaucacry; some had more to do with national pride. Most often, though, US Russian progress was stymied by forces inside the Russian establishment with a vested interest in arresting diplomatic progress where it took hold.
Bill Clinton understood all this. And more importantly, he understood Boris Yeltsin. More than once Talbott invokes the importance of the personal relationship between the two men, both by turns rogues, charmers, and vulgarians, with a singular optimism and clarity of vision both for their respective nations and for the future of world security. With some funny and incisive anecdotes Talbott demonstrates again and again the power of the personal in the political process, as Clinton and Yeltsin transcend the turf wars going on among their minions below to hammer out compromises and agreements that start to assume real political and economic coherence.
Not that there weren't bumps along the way. Yeltsin, though Talbott declines a formal diagnoses, comes across as a classic manic depressive, high energy and visionary when his back is to the wall, despondent and alcoholic when he feels his enemies smothering him. Clinton, though keenly attuned to the constraints on his counterpart from the factional strife in the Russian military and the obstreperous Duma, had his hands full when Yeltsin came to the bargaining table in a blustery or drunken temper. Talbott is masterful in recounting the tensions in these encounters, especially in Helsinki in the early part of the adminstration.
In the end, this is the story of two flawed, great men who left their world a better place for having worked together. Talbott leaves no doubt that all the rest, the quibbling and arguing and messy details of diplomacy, were inconsenquential in the face Clinton and Yeltsin's determination to not just preside over the death of an old era but to define a new one. It's somewhat poignant to go back to the beginning of the book, when Clinton, in the twilight of his term, meets the rising star Putin for the first time and senses a new, more stringent and controlled era settling over the Russian nation and the face it shows the world. There's just no chemistry between the bumptious American and the cautious new leader. Talbott leads us to believe that it wasn't just chemistry, but a genuine personal friendship that put the final stake in the heart of the cold war and all the bad that came of it.
A real insider on Clinton-Yeltsin..........2004-08-05
Clinton's old friend and key Russia advisor provides insight on a number foreign policy topics as they evolve. As deputy secretary of state, his accounts provide personal, scholarly and practical accounts. The reader might determine both that Talbott was an invaluable resource as the post-Cold War era evolved, and that in the end, Clinton was his own "Russia Hand."
The primary theme of the book is the relationship between Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin. As they address issues such as NATO expansion, the Balkans, economic difficulties, and each president's own personal troubles, a number of lessons emerge. First, great power politics takes place between human beings, not merely among structural or organizational frameworks. Second, the blending of idealism and realism is thorough and complex, they are not either-or options. Third, political, military, economic, domestic and international issues all impact each other, often in surprising ways. Fourth, watch out for the u in trying to explain policy making: in the generic Y=Ax+By+Cz+u, that u (for unexplained/unexpected) can often play a large role.
The Russia Hand is valuable to students of foreign policy, Russia and U.S.-Russia relations, and the emergence of the post-Cold War era.
Intresting Book into the Background of the Poltical World.......2004-03-03
I have read this book almost 6 months ago, so i cannot cite any specific passages from the book, but i do feel this book was well written and was very very intresting. It is better than what some of the reviewers rated it. I liked how the book was cronologically arranged, it took you through the clinton years as if you were there almost with Strobes. The only down fall i can think of is the list of names that continued to come up. I almost broke down to making some notes so i would remmber who was who. There are so many clinton bashing books out there, it is always good to read the opposite view point.
a very useful and well-written book containing many insights.......2003-04-25
Contrary to several other reviewers on this site who are rather critical, I found this a very useful and insightful book. The fact that it hardly deals with the rise of the oligarchs and other important Russian domestic items is in my view not relevant as this is a book mainly on Russian-US relations in the 1990s. Talbott writes lucid prose and is often entertaining. One gets a good impression of the endless diplomatic wheeling and dealing behind the scenes with the Russians. Talbott gives a very interesting account of his direct relationship with the Russian official Yuri Mamedov, who served as his personal contact at the Russian foreign ministry. The wounded pride of the Russians, basically due to the collapse of the old Soviet empire, was so great that all kinds of irritations about Yugoslavia and Kosovo, NATO enlargement and other issues were basically inevitable, Talbott suggests between the lines. Amazing that things went so well between Russia and the US in this period of great difficulty for Yeltsin on the Russian domestic front. Boris Yeltsin comes through as an unpredictable politician with a drinking problem which was much bigger apparently than I suspected from reading other written accounts of the 1990s. During summits with the Russians, Clinton and his team were always counting the number of drinks Yeltsin gulped down and were often trying in vain to keep the hard liquor out of reach of the Russian president. When the summit was on American soil, that is. In Russia they didn't have this possibility, of course. Talbott writes with a great knowledge of Russian history and a love of the country, but is in no way uncritical of the mess Yeltsin and his team often made in the realm of foreign policy as well. Witness the unexpected transfer of Russian troops from Bosnia to Pristina at the end of the Kosovo crisis in 1999, which as Talbott pictures it, was a clear example of messy and irresponsible Russian decision making. Still, Talbott rightly suggests that Yeltsin as president was definitely preferable to a communist fossil like Zyuganov.
Book Description
This book is a chapter-by-chapter analysis and documentation of the power of Israel via the Israeli, Jewish or Pro-Zionist Lobby on US Middle East policy. It raises serious questions as to the primary beneficiary of US policy, and its destructive results for the United States. The extraordinary extent of US political, economic, military and diplomatic support for the state of Israel is explored, along with the means whereby such support is generated and consolidated. Contending that Zionist power in America ensured unconditional US backing for Israeli colonization of Palestine and its massive uprooting of Palestinians, it views the interests of Israel rather than those of Big Oil as the primary cause of the disastrous US wars against Iraq and threats of war against Iran and Syria. It demonstrates and condemns US imitation of Israeli practice as it relates to conduct of the war on terrorism and torture. It sheds light on the AIPAC spying scandal and other Israeli espionage against America; the fraudulent and complicit role of America's academic "terrorist experts" in furthering criminal government policies, and the orchestration of the Danish cartoons to foment antipathy between Muslims and the West. It questions the inability in America to sustain or even formulate a discourse related to the subject of Israeli influence on the United States. It calls for a review of American Mideast policy with a view to reclaiming US independence of action based upon enlightened self-interest and progressive principles.
Customer Reviews:
80% on Target.......2007-09-03
This book is a perfect counter-point to They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby. I review that book also, and recommend both books to every American, just as I recommend the books below that document how the Saudis have bought the Bush Family and the Republican and Democratic parties, neither of which represents We the People.
I would normally remmove one star because the author is a bit over the top in blaming everything on the Zionists and the Neo-Conservative servants, but I went with five stars to offset the mindless rapid Zionists (I hold moderate Jews in total respect). The same week that WIRED Magazine had a cover story on a new two way sustainable energy grid, Dick Cheney was meeting secretly with Enron and Exxon. Iraq happened because Dick Cheney wanted it to happen, the Zionists provided the lies, and the Congress and the media both were intimidated into ignoring General Tony Zinn, General Shinseki, and others including myself, who said quite clearly that this was an insanely bad thing to do with an incalculably high cost.
Over-all this is an extremely welll-researched, well-written presentation of fourteen chapters that are logical and thoughtful and absolutely meritorious of full consideration.
I was very surprised to read, very carefully, two chapters dissecting two of my personal heros, Sy Hersh and Noam Chomsky, and must confess that the author provoked in me thoughtful concern and reflection. I trust Sy and Noam, but the author is so well-organized that he causes me to realize that everybody has multiple levels of agenda, and that we must all take greater care in discriminating our sources of information.
Congressman Tom Moran, who represents my district, has personally said that Zionish have too much influence on Congress, and I agree. Tom Moran has been a very good representative, and he speaks the truth.
Here are some books and a DVD that can put the totally unacceptable Zionist influence on the USA in a larger context:
Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--And How We Take It Back
The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised As Freedom
The Global Class War: How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future - and What It Will Take to Win It Back
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror
Why We Fight
Fog Facts : Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin (Nation Books)
Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It
The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track (Institutions of American Democracy)
Petras clearly has limited foreign policy experience.......2007-08-31
Petras is not very well read. It seems that anyone with a PhD can get published these days. I have an incredibly open mind, and Petras fails to convince. Many bash Noam Chomsky for his anti-imperialist views that are reprised by Petras, but Chomsky has a better grasp of the bigger picture. Israel is a puppet for the US - to advance US imperialistic foreign policy for control of the most important natural resource dating back to the last three millenia - not the other way around.
A tendentious rag-bag of bad research and sloppy argument .......2007-08-24
Having spent several years doing a thesis and a book on the role of domestic politics in American policy toward Israel, I'm always looking for more and better information. Unfortunately, that's not what you get in this book. It relies almost entirely on secondary sources, using quotes not to establish facts but to use a different voice for the author's opinions. There is almost no coherent argument at all. Petras conflates the lobby, which is a group of organizations formed to affect policy led by AIPAC, with the entire Jewish community, selected neocons, or Israel. All "facts" are selected to support the author's conclusion that the "Jewish lobby" is all-powerful, ignoring instances where AIPAC lost or was rebuffed by the government of Israel. Jews are treated as monolithic, when the fact is that they are not, even if the loudest voices in the public discourse makes it seem so. Petras does not address the reasons the American citizenry consistently supports Israel over Arabs or Muslims, or the mechanisms by which American beliefs have been fixed and enforced, or the conditions and limits on that support.
This is a deeply disappointing book, the more so because it is being pushed by Amazon as one to buy if you buy the Walt-Mearsheimer book coming out in September. Judging by the earlier articles written by Walt and Mearsheimer, that book will have its problems of evidence and logic as well, but nothing on the order of Petras's book. The shame is that our country really needs an informed debate about policy toward Israel. US policy has been badly flawed, and has done serious damage to US interests, over and above the damage it has done to people living in the region. But to fix it, Americans need to understand how it has gotten to be what it is, and Petras doesn't contribute to understanding.
If you can believe what's in this book, you can believe anything.......2007-08-10
This book is actually so far out of line that it is difficult to write a review of it. It appears to attack Noam Chomsky for being too pro-Israel. And it asks how we can confront Zionism. Well, Zionism is just one aspect of human rights, so I would think that those who can figure out how to confront human rights can figure out how to confront Zionism.
Petras does discuss suicide bombers. That's refreshing, given that some anti-Zionists would rather ignore them. And he says that the suicide bomber is driven by "an effort to redeem the Sacred from the Desecraters."
Well, that's actually interesting. But Petras ought to realize that what goes around can come around. It just might be that some people will regard those who oppose truth, justice, freedom, peace, and human rights as the "desecraters" rather than the "sacred."
Petras does not mention the fact that Israel has been a great success story in many ways. It won its independence from a wicked colonial regime. It defended itself against eliminationist aggressors. It settled for a small amount of land: if every nation were as "greedy" for land as Israel, there would never be any wars over land. It showed respect for the environment: it is the only nation to have more trees on its land in the year 2000 than were there in 1900. And it has been a reasonably tolerant democracy, in spite of the nearly constant assaults on it.
I think that if we consider the truth about how well Israel has done, it is easier to see why many Americans oppose gratuitous aggression against it, and why many Americans feel that it is in America's interest to give it some support. That could be a reason why many American members of Congress show some support for Israel. Yes, there is a pro-Israeli lobby: AIPAC. But it has a very easy product to sell. You won't see much of this in Petras' book either.
There isn't much more that's worth saying about this book.
Pro-American, Pro-Jewish, Anti-Zionist.......2007-07-23
POWER paints an accurate picture of the reality of Israel's control of America from within. It explains how this power isn't only exerted from Israel, but specifically from Americans themselves - Zionist American traitors. For those unfamiliar with this issue, a simple search for AIPAC or "Zionists of America," Amdocs, AEI will be an introduction. It's important to remember that Christians can be Zionists. 'Zionist' is not a euphemism for Jewish. The term 'anti-Semitism' cannot possibly apply. There are many Jewish Americans whose loyalty is to the United States. Zionists try to hijack Judaism so they can smear such truthful books such as this one.
I recommend this book for its truth.
Book Description
Babbin details how the United Nations actively pursues anti-American policies and appeases America's enemies, while being largely funded by $3 billion worth of annual American dues. After revealing the depth of rampant corruption in the UN, Babbin concludes that it is time to recognize the changes in Old Europe and redesign America's alliances that line up with America's national interests.
Customer Reviews:
Babbin ain't liken.......2007-03-25
Although I basically liked this book.It definitely has a right leaning attitude.
Inside the Asylum.......2007-03-12
I enjoyed reading this eye-opening book from start to finish. The exposure of the UN's corruption and anti-American bias was disturbing but is also something all Americans should understand, especially when our misguided politicians insist we need UN approval to defend ourselves. Mr. Babbin also provided an in-depth review of the duplicity in those European countries who 'pretend' to be our friends and allies but who are anything but, especially France and Jacques Chirac.
I strongly recommend this book. It is an easy-to-read and understand book which is both educational and enjoyable reading, written by someone who has been close to the action and knows from whereupon he speaks.
Don McGowan
Inside the Asylum: Why the UN and Old Europe are Worse Than You Think.......2007-01-09
Corruptness, mismanagement, self-intrest and anti-Americanism are what we get for our billions of dollars spent for this bad endeavor. We all know it is bad, but should read this book to get the whole story that the media won't tell us.
An asylum run by the inmates........2006-12-14
If you ever wonder if the U.S. should leave the UN, read this book and you will have the answer.
In case you do not know enough about the UN to make form an opinion, read this book.
It should be required reading for Congress and the Executive Branch.
Time to get out.......2006-10-14
Like many ideas, the desire to set up a structure such as the UN was probably well-motivated and a legitimate concept at the time. But a strong argument can be made that the UN no longer serves its original purpose, and may in fact be acting against its founding ideals.
That is certainly the case being made by Jed Babbin, a leading American national security analyst. He argues that the UN has become a moribund, corrupt, biased and bloated bureaucracy which does little to promote the good of the world, but much to support tyrants, dictators and leftwing causes, as well as its own longevity.
When the UN was formed in 1945, it had some laudable aims. But also built into the original UN charter were some glaring defects, argues Babbin. The first error was to apply the doctrine of the equality of all men to nations. But not all nations are equal. Dictatorships, terrorist states, and Communist states are simply not on a par with free, democratic states.
Another problem is that "any nation, pseudo-nation, or thugocracy such as Iran under the mullahs" can be a member of the UN. This makes the whole exercise of peacekeeping and the promotion of human rights become counterproductive.
And the lack of accountability and a system of checks and balances makes the UN answerable to no one. Thus the opportunities for mismanagement and corruption are many.
Indeed, the Oil-for-Food scandal is a classic case in point. This debacle has yet to fully see the light of day, but we do know that the UN was implicitly involved in this. Indeed, UN officials provided Saddam Hussein with the means to "bribe politicians, to deprive his people of needed food and medicine, and to literally steal billions of dollars".
Not only was this the biggest financial scandal of the UN, much of the money siphoned off ended up lining the pockets of UN bureaucrats, along with various politicians.
The UN has been especially impotent to deal with terrorism. But worse than that, it has tended to side with the terrorists and tyrants over-against he US and much of the West. The democratic members of the UN seek to abide by its resolutions, but rogue states regularly flaunt them. By routinely cooperating with terrorists, the UN is not making the world a safer and more peaceful place, says Babbin.
He argues that reform of the UN is probably impossible, and the wisest course for the US may be to simply pull out altogether. Indeed, given that is directly and indirectly pumps around $7 billion a year into the UN (being its largest benefactor), and gets nothing but grief and hostility in return, that may not be a bad option.
Babbin says a coalition of like minded states could seek to do what the UN was meant to do, but has been unable or unwilling to do. Such a proposal may or may not be workable. But to stay in a system that has proven to be a failure is certainly not the way to proceed.
Other books have been recently written making a similar case to Babbin's. But if just one volume is to be consulted, this would be a good starting place indeed.
Book Description
THE SEMINAL WORK ON FOREIGN POLICY AND THE ART OF DIPLOMACY
Moving from a sweeping overview of history to blow-by-blow accounts of his negotiations with world leaders, Henry Kissinger describes how the art of diplomacy has created the world in which we live, and how America's approach to foreign affairs has always differed vastly from that of other nations.
Brilliant, controversial, and profoundly incisive, Diplomacy stands as the culmination of a lifetime of diplomatic service and scholarship. It is vital reading for anyone concerned with the forces that have shaped our world today and will impact upon it tomorrow.
Customer Reviews:
Shows historical roots of Kissinger's brand of diplomacy.......2007-08-27
I enjoyed reading this book. Dr. Kissinger is, without saying, one of the most talented and accomplished diplomats that this nation has had. The fact that he ignited so much controversy on both the left and the right does much to confirm this view. In this book, he traces the evolution of international diplomacy from the 17th century. He begins with a discussion of Cardinal Richelieu, a talented practitioner of raison d'etat, which would later develop into realpolitik. Richelieu, though a French Catholic prelate and regent, would ultimately cooperate with Protestant and Muslim rulers against the fellow Catholic Habsburg Empire. It is easy to draw parallels between this and the Nixon-Kissinger policy of rapproachment with Communist China and efforts to play China and the Soviet Union against each other, to the benefit of the United States. Dr. Kissinger also spends a lot of time discussing Metternich's "balance of power" brand of diplomacy, and Bismark's realpolitik. It is clear from the presentation that he has a great deal of interest in, and respect for, these 2 men (and, in my view, with plenty of justification). This book is a "must-read" for people who want a better understanding of diplomatic history.
The World According to Henry Kissinger.......2007-05-13
During his terms as foreign secretary and national security adviser Henry Kissinger was the ultimate bad guy. Nice to have such a chap around! All the frustrations during the Nixon and Ford Administrations could be directed at Henry Kissinger. But every bloke deserves a second chance.
In 1994 Kissinger wrote Diplomacy. It really is a brilliant piece of work!!Astonishing how a former secretary of state commands every detail of statemanship in foreign policy. Kissinger deals with the concepts of national interest, balance of power and power politics. The book is a thoughtful exercise in modern politics and as such a wonderful textbook for every student of government and bureaucracies. The foreign policy of the United States in the twentieth century strikes Kissinger as ambivalent. It is insisting simultaneously on the inadmissibility of intervention in the domestic affairs of other states and on the other hand passionately asserting that its (the United States') own values are universally applicable. In the day to day conduct of foreign affairs the United States is pragmatic while no nation has been more ideological in the pursuit of its assumed historic moral convictions. Well, Kissinger wrote his Diplomacy in the period between Bush 41 and Bush 43. Maybe we could pinpoint this precisely as the difference between pragmatic and ideological.
Luuk Oost
Absorbing account on the art of dealing and warring among nations.......2007-01-17
In Diplomacy, Henry Kissinger presents his masterpiece analysis of the evolution of the art of diplomacy. As a top diplomat, the author leaves out details of historic events that are circumstantial to his theme. That is the understanding of how national diplomacy has grown up in the last four centuries.
Diplomacy starts with the seventeenth century dominance of Holy Empire where the Emperor drove his absolute authority direct from God. In such imperial design, the populace is the servant of the Emperor who represents God on Earth. Democracy is a sin since it questions God's will. Modern science was newborn and untested.
The emergence of reformation presented challenge to the Holy Empire. That gave rise to new diplomacy. France improvised the tactic of "nation-state" as a savior of its populace from the estranged Empire. Astute leaders would have to adapt the biblical doctrine to deal with the new trend of questioning the divine authority of the Emperor. The rise of "nation-state" started the "immoral" struggle for national interests and securities, in place of God's work.
The national struggles that replaced the Holy Empire collided over land grabs, borders, and national interests. Bismarck advanced that evolution farther into "Realpolitik" with cold and calculating national dealing that is devoid of personal affection. The result was the unification of Germany.
The major landmarks in the evolution of diplomacy are closely attributed to individual statesmen with secure and long careers on the national theatre. After Bismarck's removal, the reckless "Worldpolitik" led to expansionism and two world wars. The aggravating factor was the emergence of new military technology that complicated the coordination of diplomatic planning and military strategy.
As modern science grew confident and Deity grew challenged, the military industry outpaced diplomacy in securing national interests. WWI engulfed Europe as a result of the failure of diplomacy to catch up with military mobilization. As science grew older and military force became lethal, WWII erupted out of exercising excessive diplomacy, with little military strategy on the allied side.
The author delves into the psychology of nations and leaders in a brilliant analysis of its impact on historic development. For three centuries, the cold and calculating Great Britain dominated the seas and retained its imperial kingdom and democratic government in determined trend of "splendid isolation". Great Britain kept the balance of the European forces till its fateful end in the marsh of German and Russian dictatorships. Modern technology then eliminated the oceanic barriers between America and the old world. Great Britain is then replaced by USA, with only one difference: rejection to colonialism.
The psychological analysis of the behavior of the statesmen in time of peace and war offers deep understanding of how our present day policy has evolved. As recent as the year 1914, WWI started because the European emperors refused to attend the funeral of the assassinated Austrian emperor because his dead wife was not from noble blood. In 1960, Henry Kissinger was freely and humbly walking Kansas City's streets with Henry Truman. Neither of the two was from noble blood, yet each of them was the top policy maker in the human history.
Diplomacy has grown and matured as our struggle with faith, race, and science continues.
Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training
Excellent book.......2007-01-12
This book is excellent. I recommend for students in International Relations and Science Polict.
My least favorite "statesman" writes one of my favorite books!.......2006-10-29
I would love to give this book 1 star based on the person who wrote this book, but Kissinger has shown in almost all of his writings an understanding of world politics that goes far beyond almost any other American student of diplomacy in analysis and historical accuracy. This is one of his true Master Works, and is easily the best single volume on diplomacy that I've ever read. He is able to place European diplomacy in a narrative that is exceptionally readable and erudite despite its inherently esoteric topic.
In terms of a general discussion of diplomacy, the next best is a *three* volume series, *The Great Powers*, by Longman Press. Without judging the person who wrote this book, *Diplomacy* ranks with the great histories of our day.
Average customer rating:
- Award-Winner, Mind-Altering Information, Useful, Scholarly
- Why don't you own this book?!!
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Faith-Based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik
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ASIN: 0195160894 |
Book Description
For most of the twentieth century, the most critical concerns of national security have been balance of power politics and the global arms race. The attacks of September 11, 2001 and the motives behind them, however, demand a radical break with this tradition. If the United States is to prevail in its long-term contest with extremist Islam, it will need to re-examine old assumptions, expand the scope of its thinking to include religion and other "irrational" factors, and be willing to depart from past practice. A purely military response in reaction to such attacks will simply not suffice. What will be required is a long-term strategy of cultural engagement, backed by a deeper understanding of how others view the world and what is important to them. In non-Western cultures, religion is a primary motivation for political actions. Historically dismissed by Western policymakers as a divisive influence, religion in fact has significant potential for overcoming the obstacles that lead to paralysis and stalemate. The incorporation of religion as part of the solution to such problems is as simple as it is profound. It is long overdue. This book looks at five intractable conflicts and explores the possibility of drawing on religion as a force for peace. It builds upon the insights of Religion, the Missing Dimension of Statecraft (OUP,1994)--which examined the role that religious or spiritual factors can play in preventing or resolving conflict--while achieving social change based on justice and reconciliation. The world-class authors writing in this volume suggest how the peacemaking tenets of five major world religions can be strategically applied in ongoing conflicts in which those religions are involved. Finally, the commonalities and differences between these religions are examined with an eye toward further applications in peacemaking and conflict resolution.
Customer Reviews:
Award-Winner, Mind-Altering Information, Useful, Scholarly.......2004-04-30
Let's start with the award. I was so impressed with this book that it received one of the ten Golden Candle Awards for most constructive and innovative work in the Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) field. It represents the second book in a body of work that may eventually be worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. The citation reads:
To Dr. Douglas M. Johnston, president and founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, for his path-finding efforts with regard to Preventive Diplomacy as well as Religion and Conflict Resolution. Among his many works, two stand out for defining a critical missing element in modern diplomacy: Religion, the Missing Dimension of Statecraft (Oxford University Press, 1994), and Faith-based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik (Oxford University Press, 2003). He has restored the proper meaning of faith qua earnestness instead of faith qua zealotry, and this is a contribution of great importance.
With a foreword by no less than The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton, today a leader of the 9-11 Commission, the book drives a stake in the heart of secular "objective" negotiation and focuses on how faith (not zealotry, but earnest faith) can alter the spiral of violence in such places as Sudan, Kashmir, and the Middle East.
The editor and contributing author has assembled a multi-national and multi-religion cast of experts whose work in the aggregate completely supports the premise of the book: that the 21st Century will be about religion instead of ideology, and that what hopes we might have for reconciling "irreconcilable differences" lie in the balanced integration of religious dialog and conflict prevention, rather than in pre-emptive military action and unilateralist bullying.
I found two core concepts especially relevant to national security: the first is that we need an Office of Religious and Cultural Intelligence within the Central Intelligence Agency, and we need, as the authors suggest, to put religious attaches into every Embassy. The second, and this is a truly core concept, is "The price of freedom is cultural engagement--taking the time to learn how others view the world, to understand what is important to them, and to determine what can realistically be done to help them realize their legitimate aspirations."
This is a brilliant, scholarly, practical, world-changing book. It joins Max Manwaring's various books, but especially "The Search for Security," Joe Nye's earlier books on understanding the world and engaging the world with soft power, and George Soros as well as the several other books on my standard national security reading list. The conclusion of the book lists a number of means by which religion can impact on diplomacy and state-craft, and I for one have become a believer--this book completely altered my perspective on the role of religion as a peacemaker of substance and day-to-day practicality.
Why don't you own this book?!!.......2003-03-12
Faith-based Diplomacy, Trumping Realpolitik offers a fresh perspective on how to deal with religious militancy. It goes beyond traditional notions of power politics to get at the heart and soul of how to deal with religious terrorism, thus superseding in effectiveness Washington-centric notions of guns and missiles. The creativity of the authors offers much grist for policymakers to "think outside the box" of how traditional power politics are conducted and offers new insights into the process of conflict transformation. A very interesting, insightful, and helpful book for the politician, religious leader and educated layperson.
Books:
- On Liberty and Other Essays (Oxford World's Classics)
- On the Move
- Outlaws of America: The Weather Underground And the Politics of Solidarity
- Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid
- Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries
- Phantom: Chainfire Trilogy, Part 2 (Sword of Truth, Book 10)
- Plan of Attack
- Programming C#: Building .NET Applications with C#
- Red Dragon Rising: Communist China's Military Threat to America
- Rules for Radicals
Books Index
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