Henry Kissinger and the American Century

Awards:   Nominated for Bancroft Prize 2008 Nominated for Lionel Gelber Prize 2008 Nominated for National Book Awards 2007 Nominated for Pulitzer Prizes 2008
Author:   Jeremi Suri
Publisher:   Harvard University Press
ISBN:  

9780674032521


Pages:   368
Publication Date:   01 May 2009
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Henry Kissinger and the American Century


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Awards

  • Nominated for Bancroft Prize 2008
  • Nominated for Lionel Gelber Prize 2008
  • Nominated for National Book Awards 2007
  • Nominated for Pulitzer Prizes 2008

Overview

What made Henry Kissinger the kind of diplomat he was? What experiences and influences shaped his worldview and provided the framework for his approach to international relations? Jeremi Suri offers a thought-provoking, interpretive study of one of the most influential and controversial political figures of the twentieth century. Drawing on research in more than six countries in addition to extensive interviews with Kissinger and others, Suri analyzes the sources of Kissinger's ideas and power and explains why he pursued the policies he did. Kissinger's German-Jewish background, fears of democratic weakness, belief in the primacy of the relationship between the United States and Europe, and faith in the indispensable role America plays in the world shaped his career and his foreign policy. Suri shows how Kissinger's early years in Weimar and Nazi Germany, his experiences in the U.S. Army and at Harvard University, and his relationships with powerful patrons--including Nelson Rockefeller and Richard Nixon--shed new light on the policymaker. Kissinger's career was a product of the global changes that made the American Century. He remains influential because his ideas are rooted so deeply in dominant assumptions about the world. In treating Kissinger fairly and critically as a historical figure, without polemical judgments, Suri provides critical context for this important figure. He illuminates the legacies of Kissinger's policies for the United States in the twenty-first century.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jeremi Suri
Publisher:   Harvard University Press
Imprint:   The Belknap Press
Dimensions:   Width: 14.80cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 22.70cm
Weight:   0.522kg
ISBN:  

9780674032521


ISBN 10:   0674032527
Pages:   368
Publication Date:   01 May 2009
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Introduction: The Making of the American Century 1. Democracy and Its Discontents 2. Transatlantic Ties 3. The Cold War University 4. A Strategy of Limits 5. A Statesman's Revolution 6. From Germany to Jerusalem Notes Acknowledgments Index

Reviews

Probing thoughtfully into Kissinger's background and character, Suri sees the secretary as the Cold War's ultimate statesman. Eschewing polemics... this work explores what-shaped and nurtured the phenomenon that was Henry Kissinger. - The Atlantic An interpretation of his life that stands out among recent books on the subject for the extent and the depth of the author's research... This is surely the best book yet published about Henry Kissinger. - Niall Ferguson, Times Literary Supplement Suri is at his best when demonstrating the roots of Kissinger's distrust of mass democratic politics, his obsession with strong leaders, his emphasis on the limits of American power and his disdain for the 'insular self-righteousness' and 'utopianism' of reformers 'advocating a vision of global democracy.' - Eric Arnesen, Chicago Tribune


Author Information

Jeremi Suri is E. Gordon Fox Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

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