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Kissinger
- A Biography
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 34 hrs and 30 mins
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Publisher's summary
By the time Henry Kissinger was made secretary of state in 1973, he had become, according to a Gallup poll, the most admired person in America and one of the most unlikely celebrities ever to capture the world's imagination. Yet Kissinger was also reviled by large segments of the American public, ranging from liberal intellectuals to conservative activists.
Kissinger explores the relationship between this complex man's personality and the foreign policy he pursued. Drawing on extensive interviews with Kissinger as well as 150 other sources, including US presidents and his business clients, this first full-length biography makes use of many of Kissinger's private papers and classified memos to tell his uniquely American story.
The result is an intimate narrative, filled with surprising revelations, that follows this grandly colorful statesman from his childhood as a persecuted Jew in Nazi Germany, through his tortured relationship with Richard Nixon, to his later years as a globe-trotting business consultant.
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- By Jack Merritt on 07-30-15
By: H. W. Brands
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Gorbachev
- His Life and Times
- By: William Taubman
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 32 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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When Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, the USSR was one of the world's two superpowers. By 1989, his liberal policies of perestroika and glasnost had permanently transformed Soviet Communism and had made enemies of radicals on the right and left. By 1990 he, more than anyone else, had ended the Cold War, and in 1991, after barely escaping from a coup attempt, he unintentionally presided over the collapse of the Soviet Union he had tried to save.
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The Man Who Changed The Course Of History
- By Jean on 12-30-17
By: William Taubman
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Three Days in January
- Dwight Eisenhower's Final Mission
- By: Bret Baier, Catherine Whitney
- Narrated by: Bret Baier, Danny Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In this debut history from one of America's most influential political journalists, Bret Baier casts the three days between Dwight Eisenhower's prophetic "farewell address" on the evening of January 17, 1961, and his successor John F. Kennedy's inauguration on the afternoon of January 20 as the final mission of one of modern America's greatest leaders.
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Gently In Manner, Strongly In Deed...
- By Gillian on 01-20-17
By: Bret Baier, and others
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Those Angry Days
- Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941
- By: Lynne Olson
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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At the center of the debate over American intervention in World War II stood the two most famous men in America: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who championed the interventionist cause, and aviator Charles Lindbergh, who as unofficial leader and spokesman for America's isolationists emerged as the president's most formidable adversary. Their contest of wills personified the divisions within the country at large, and Lynne Olson makes masterly use of their dramatic personal stories to create a poignant and riveting narrative.
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Incivility in Politics - A Real Shocker!
- By Carole T. on 04-24-13
By: Lynne Olson
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Roosevelt's Second Act
- The Election of 1940 and the Politics of War
- By: Richard Moe
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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On August 31, 1939, nearing the end of his second and presumably final term in office, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was working in the Oval Office and contemplating construction of his presidential library and planning retirement. The next day German tanks had crossed the Polish border; Britain and France had declared war. Overnight the world had changed, and FDR found himself being forced to consider a dramatically different set of circumstances.
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Puts listener in the moment.
- By Jake on 05-16-14
By: Richard Moe
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Kissinger: Volume I
- 1923-1968: The Idealist
- By: Niall Ferguson
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 34 hrs and 11 mins
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No American statesman has been as revered and as reviled as Henry Kissinger. Once hailed as "Super-K" - the "indispensable man" whose advice has been sought by every president from Kennedy to Obama - he has also been hounded by conspiracy theorists, scouring his every "telcon" for evidence of Machiavellian malfeasance. Yet as Niall Ferguson shows in this magisterial biography, the idea of Kissinger as the ruthless arch-realist is based on a profound misunderstanding.
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Riveting
- By Jean on 11-10-15
By: Niall Ferguson
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Known and Unknown
- A Memoir
- By: Donald Rumsfeld
- Narrated by: Donald Rumsfeld
- Length: 30 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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A powerful memoir from the late former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. With the same directness that defined his career in public service, Rumsfeld's memoir is filled with previously undisclosed details and insights about the Bush administration, 9/11, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It also features Rumsfeld's unique and often surprising observations on eight decades of history. Both a fascinating narrative and an unprecedented glimpse into history, Known and Unknown captures the legacy of one of the most influential men in public service.
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Inside view of five decades in politics
- By Brooks on 02-19-11
By: Donald Rumsfeld
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The Hopkins Touch
- By: David Roll
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The Hopkins Touch offers the first portrait in over two decades of the most powerful man in Roosevelt's administration. David Roll shows how Harry Hopkins, an Iowa-born social worker who had been an integral part of the New Deal's implementation, became the linchpin in FDR's - and America's - relationships with Churchill and Stalin, and spoke with an authority second only to the president's.
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Hopkins - the glue of the tripartite coalition
- By Chrissie on 05-19-13
By: David Roll
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Berlin 1961
- Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth
- By: Frederick Kempe
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 20 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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A former Wall Street Journal editor and the current president and CEO of the Atlantic Council, Frederick Kempe draws on recently released documents and personal interviews to re-create the powder keg that was 1961 Berlin. In Cold War Berlin, the United States and the Soviet Union stand nose to nose, with the possibility of nuclear war just one misstep away.
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I am scared in retrospect
- By theenglishmajor on 06-26-11
By: Frederick Kempe
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The Best and the Brightest
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 37 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Using portraits of America’s flawed policy makers and accounts of the forces that drove them, The Best and the Brightest reckons magnificently with the most important abiding question of our country’s recent history: Why did America become mired in Vietnam, and why did we lose? As the definitive single-volume answer to that question, this enthralling book has never been superseded. It is an American classic.
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Preparation for Ken Burns
- By Chiefkent on 06-12-17
By: David Halberstam
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Good book, not crazy about the narrator
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Wish the sample was not from the preface!
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He makes Bill Gates look like a Pauper!
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Dull with poor narration
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Wish the sample was not from the preface!
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He makes Bill Gates look like a Pauper!
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The definitive biography of Henry Kissinger - at least for those who neither revere nor revile him.
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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 a must-listen for anyone concerned with the forces that have shaped our world today and will impact upon it tomorrow.
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A History of the Ancient Geeks
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The Code Breaker
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The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a “compelling” (The Washington Post) account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and have healthier babies.
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Except for the author, this book is good!
- By Johan on 03-14-21
By: Walter Isaacson
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Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Kissinger: The Idealist by Niall Ferguson, read by Roy McMillan. No American statesman has been as revered and as reviled as Henry Kissinger. Hailed by some as the 'indispensable man' whose advice has been sought by every president from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush, Kissinger has also attracted immense hostility from critics who have cast him as an amoral Machiavellian - the ultimate cold-blooded 'realist'.
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Excellent narrative & narrator
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Kissinger: Volume I
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No American statesman has been as revered and as reviled as Henry Kissinger. Once hailed as "Super-K" - the "indispensable man" whose advice has been sought by every president from Kennedy to Obama - he has also been hounded by conspiracy theorists, scouring his every "telcon" for evidence of Machiavellian malfeasance. Yet as Niall Ferguson shows in this magisterial biography, the idea of Kissinger as the ruthless arch-realist is based on a profound misunderstanding.
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Riveting
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World Order
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Henry Kissinger offers in World Order a deep meditation on the roots of international harmony and global disorder. Drawing on his experience as one of the foremost statesmen of the modern era Kissinger now reveals his analysis of the ultimate challenge for the 21st century: How to build a shared international order in a world of divergent historical perspectives, violent conflict, proliferating technology, and ideological extremism.
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More retrospective than future oriented
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By: Henry Kissinger
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The Thirty Years War
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The Thirty Years War devastated seventeenth-century Europe, killing nearly a quarter of all Germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. Peter Wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict that transformed the map of the modern world.
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Best Single-Volume History of the 30 Years' War
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In Leadership, Kissinger analyses the lives of six extraordinary leaders through the distinctive strategies of statecraft, which he believes they embodied. After the Second World War, Konrad Adenauer brought defeated and morally bankrupt Germany back into the community of nations by what Kissinger calls “the strategy of humility.” Charles de Gaulle set France beside the victorious Allies and renewed its historic grandeur by “the strategy of will.”
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Architects of World Order
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Steve Jobs
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Based on more than 40 interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
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Good Biography, Fine narrator
- By Chris on 10-27-11
By: Walter Isaacson
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A History of the United States in Five Crashes
- Stock Market Meltdowns That Defined a Nation
- By: Scott Nations
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
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In this absorbing, smart, and accessible blend of economic and cultural history in the vein of the works of Michael Lewis and Andrew Ross Sorkin, a financial executive and CNBC contributor examines the five most significant stock market crashes in the United States over the past century, revealing how they have defined the nation today.
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A solid telling of crucial history
- By Philo on 06-17-17
By: Scott Nations
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Darkest Hour
- How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink
- By: Anthony McCarten
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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May 1940. Britain is at war, Winston Churchill has unexpectedly been promoted to prime minister, and the horrors of Blitzkrieg witness one Western European democracy fall after another in rapid succession. Facing this horror, with pen in hand and typist-secretary at the ready, Churchill wonders what words could capture the public mood when the invasion of Britain seems mere hours away. It is this fascinating period that Anthony McCarten captures in this deeply researched and wonderfully written new book, The Darkest Hour.
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Gripping
- By Jean on 12-06-17
By: Anthony McCarten
What listeners say about Kissinger
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- Mike From Mesa
- 12-16-13
A dissapointment
I always thought that Dr Kissinger's life would be interesting. A refugee from Nazi Germany who grew up to become a National Security Advisor, Secretary of State and a successful businessman. I had read Mr Isaacson's book on Einstein and found it to be interesting, informative and fair minded and naturally thought his book on Kissinger would also be worth reading. Unfortunately this turned out to not the case.
This book covers all of Dr Kissinger's life but mostly dwells on his time as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State. While the portions of the book covering the rest of his life treat him fairly, the time covering his time as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State is of a different sort. Little that Kissinger did during these years is presented in an even-handed fashion and the author's descriptions of him fairly bristles with scorn and distain. Even actions that would normally be considered open minded, inclusive or far seeing are presented as somehow representative of personal faults. Some examples -
As a graduate student at Harvard then Mr Kissinger became heavily involved in a symposium involving present and future leaders of foreign countries. A graduate student involving himself in such a symposium might be considered far seeing, thoughtful and interested in the world at large but, in Mr Isaacson's view, this indicates that Kissinger had already decided that he was going to be in government and all of this effort was to secure his future. Even if this was true it is hard to see how it is a failing.
During the Viet Nam war Mr Isaacson says that Dr Kissinger reached out to anti-war protesters, met with them and tried to convince them that the Nixon Administration was trying its best to end the war. Such an action would normally be seen as an indication that the government was being inclusive and willing to listen to it's critics but Mr Isaacson sees this as an manifestation of Dr Kissinger's insecurity.
While Dr Kissinger was National Security Advisor and Secretary of State he was involved in turf battles with other officials. Normally this would be seen as normal in a political environment. Mr Isaacson sees this as an indication of Dr Kissinger's insecurity. During this time Dr Kissinger was also involved in political arguments with While House cabinet officials. One would think that this would be seen as normal but Mr Isaacson finds such actions examples of Dr Kissinger's aggressiveness and insecurity. During international negotiations Dr Kissinger would present only part of the whole to each party in an effort to reassure them and convince them that he was on their side. One would think that this would be considered regular negotiating tactics but Mr Isaacson sees this as an example of how secretive and devious Dr Kissinger was. Dr Kissinger was known to flatter President Nixon. One would think that this was the normal way subordinates acted when talking to the President but Mr Isaacson sees this as an example of how fawning Dr Kissinger was to his boss. It almost appears that Dr Kissinger's political enemies were interviewed and quoted extensively, his political friends far less so. And the list goes on. Practically nothing that Dr Kissinger did while in government is presented without Mr Isaacson saying that how it was done was somehow indicative of Dr Kissinger's dark side.
The only events that Mr Isaacson seems to think were worthy actions on the part of Dr Kissinger were the opening to China and the Salt negotiations. In this section of the book Mr Isaacson has (almost) only good things to say about Dr Kissinger but, based on this book, one could easily believe that everything else Dr Kissinger did involved misleading, lying, distorting or conniving and was probably done to further his own best interests. Dr Kissinger is said to be brilliant but difficult to deal with, as though this was somehow an unusual combination. Nixon is quoted as telling soon-to-be-President Ford that Kissinger was brilliant but had to be watched since he sometimes was difficult to handle and sometimes had bad ideas. This is supposed to be unusual? It is important for me to stress that these comments that Mr Isaacson makes about Dr Kissinger are not an occasional reference, but for a drumbeat throughout most of the book.
Toward the end of the book Mr Isaacson writes about how well Dr Kissinger was thought of, even years after he left government. There are portraits of how well he was received when traveling for business in places like China, Indonesia, Japan and the Middle East as late as the 1980s and 1990s. Such actions on the parts of the governments involved, when Dr Kissinger was only a private citizen, seem odd if one is to believe Mr Isaacson's view that Dr Kissinger deceived the government leaders of those countries, lied to them or told them half-truths.
While the view of Dr Kissinger presented in this book seems to me to be unfairly influenced by, I assume, Mr Isaacson's political views, the book does provide a very good history of the events of the Nixon and Ford Administrations involving both the well-known and less well-known events and, as a history of the period, I found it very complete. I found it far less so as an even handed and fair presentation of Dr Kissinger's actions.
The narration is very well done but I was surprised that quotes from Dr Kissinger were given in an imitation of his voice, including his heavy German accent. However it soon became clear that the narration of all of the famous people being quoted was done in a credible imitation of their own voices. It was so well done that it became easy to identify who was being quoted by just listening to they voices.
If you believe that Dr Kissinger was Dr Strangelove from the Stanley Kubrick move "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb", this is your book. If you are interested in an even-handed and fair look into Dr Kissinger's life you might want to look elsewhere.
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- Maya A.
- 08-03-14
Thorough, well-researched and interesting bio.
Isaacson truly depicts what it was like to be a fly on the wall throughout Kissinger's life and his encounters with a wide range of major figures. If you can handle 36 hours of it, you really get into it and when it's over you will miss it. The narrator was the best I have ever heard. Tireless, unchanging, with great accents when using quotes from many world figures.
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- Judith
- 07-29-13
Tedious
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Someone who is interested in every minute detail of kissingers life. But who knows how much is true. Kissinger did not authorize this book.
Would you recommend Kissinger to your friends? Why or why not?
Probably not. Too long and tedious.
What three words best describe Malcolm Hillgartner’s voice?
Great voice....kept me interested until I just just couldn't listen anymore.
What character would you cut from Kissinger?
Haig....maybe.
Any additional comments?
Unfortunately I didn't know before I bought this book that Kissinger was not endorse its writing.
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- SANDRINE
- 11-08-16
A great page of history
Kissinger is not someone I appreciated particularly, but reading this book gives you a better understanding of the times and circumstances of the cold war.
The middle east situation today is easier to understand after reading Kissinger biography.. And proves that he did not deserve the Nobel prize for peace! He created more hate than any other person, his motives were selfish. It is sad to see someone so intelligent use it only for his own interests, pretending to serve the world's interests.
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- Jesse Field
- 12-13-16
Enlightening
Extremely well-composed biography of a tricky individual, separating out Kissinger's mistakes and achievements, his penchant for secrecy from his insightful approach to balancing powers against each other. Long, yes, but a great book for commuters who read US and world history. I found it read quite well at double speed, even let's Hillgartner's impressions of Kissinger and Nixon shine through
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- Kilgore Trout
- 05-10-23
An analysis of US foreign policy in the '70
I didn't give 5 stars because the analysis of Vietnam era was tedious because of so many details.
It is interesting how personality of Kissinger influenced the US foreign policy. An unforgiven biography.
I make you wonder about his role in SE Asia: if he and Nixon didn't do anything there will be communism in Vietnam and Cambodia?
The trilateral with China would happen anyway because Mao weekend an approach with US.
The Saddat approach to Israel would happen anyway because the use services of Romanians to discuss with Israel.
The mess in Angola would happen anyway.
In Chile the coup supported by US changed the course of history.
Overall you see the impotence of an important man when he tries to tame the forces of history, and how his unconscious flaws have long lasting consequences on history.
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- paul e pennington
- 04-07-18
Isaacson Hates Kissinger
The book comes off as a vendetta. Isaacson tells us earlier on that Kissinger didn’t like the book however after an expended period of time he forgave him and they have worked jointly on projects since.
I was really hoping for a well researched historical account of Kissinger. To be fair the book was fair in describing the early years, the war and entering Harvard. Then the knives come out.
In my mind Kissinger is not remembered as the worst policy maker in our nation’s history. Maybe from Isaacson’s perspective he was.
I have read now four books by Isaacson and was this was not his best work.
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- Yenrab Namrehs
- 03-30-16
Sympathetic look at a controversial character.
Sympathetic look at a controversial character. Just the name Kissinger raises strong views, right or left. The author tries to be balanced, but in the end you sense he likes and admires (and is charmed by) the subject too much to be even handed. We get it, Kissinger is brilliant, but the long term effect of his policies are not explored dufficiently. It's not an apologia, thankfully, but it is a 'let me explain' on some key points that could have been sharpened and more critically viewed. Disappointing that Vietnam was covered somewhat hastily and not in much depth, but the Mideast 'shuttle diplomacy' was covered exhaustively. I would have liked more vetting of Vietnam. Oh, Nixon comes off as completely unfit to be President.
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- Vicki
- 03-14-14
Disappointing and Tedious
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
No, I agree with everything Mike for Mesa had to say except that I found the narrator's use of mimic to be really annoying. I agree with Judith that it was tedious.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
Kissinger is a very interesting person but no one is interesting when you tediously slog through the events of their life. So much could have been edited from this book and you would still "know" Kissinger. Although, I agree with Mike that the author seemed to have it in for Kissinger and purposely shown him in the worst light possible. That surprised me after reading Steve Jobs and Einstein. In fact I picked this book only because I wanted to read something else from Walter Isaacson.
What aspect of Malcolm Hillgartner’s performance would you have changed?
He mimicked Kissinger, Nixon and other main characters. I don't know why but I found it to be really annoying. It was as if he was mocking them.
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- Simon
- 11-22-13
Wow - I learned a lot from this book
What did you like best about this story?
An interesting life told in an interesting way. The story became alive in my head when I listened to this audiobook.
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