Diplomacy

Whatever one may think about Kissinger, he is an indispensable theorist of realpolitik, balance of power politics, and the national interest. I originally picked the book up because I wanted something that covered a large span of history and was written clearly and simply. The book did not let me do......more

[URL not allowed] This is a somewhat frustrating book. The opening chapters, based apparently on the author's PhD thesis about diplomacy in the nineteenth century, are pretty dull, even soporific. But once Kissinger gets to the twentieth century, it all gets rather exciting -......more

To give this book 5* is a gross understatement. To call it monumental is a cliché. Epic? Masterful? The same. Yet, all these characterizations are totally true. I was not expecting this. I knew that it is considered one of the essential readings, but to think that I had it on my shelf for more than 2......more

Kissinger's Diplomacy is essentially four books. 1. The first is a diplomatic history of Europe from the 1600s until WWI. 2. The second is a US and Europe-centric diplomatic history from WWI until the early Cold War. 3. The third is part memoir, part justification for Kissinger's own political decis......more