Synopses & Reviews
The definitive biography of Henry Kissinger, based on unprecedented access to his private papers, by an acclaimed historian at the height of his powers
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. Drawing not only on Kissinger's hitherto closed private papers but also on documents from more than a hundred archives around the world, Ferguson argues that the true foundation of Kissinger's thought is philosophical idealismcombined with history itself.
The first half of Kissinger's life is usually skimmed over as a quintessential tale of American ascent: the Jewish refugee from Hitlers Germany who made it to the White House. But in this first of two volumes, Ferguson shows that what Kissinger achieved before his appointment as Richard Nixon's national security adviser was astonishing in its own right. Toiling as a teenager in a New York factory, he studied indefatigably at night. He was drafted into the U.S. infantry and saw action at the Battle of the Bulge — as well as the liberation of a concentration camp — but ended his army career interrogating Nazis. It was at Harvard that Kissinger found his vocation. Having immersed himself in the philosophy of Kant and the diplomacy of Metternich, he shot to celebrity by arguing for "limited nuclear war.” Nelson Rockefeller hired him. Kennedy called him to Camelot. Yet Kissinger's rise was anything but irresistible. Dogged by press gaffes and disappointed by "Rocky,” Kissinger seemed stuck — until a trip to Vietnam changed everything.
The Idealist is the story of the single most important strategic thinker America has ever produced. It is also a political Bildungsroman, explaining how Dr. Strangelove” ended up as consigliere to a politician he had always abhorred. Like Ferguson's classic two-volume history of the House of Rothschild, Kissinger sheds dazzling new light on an entire era. The essential account of an extraordinary life, it recasts the cold war world.
Review
“If Kissinger’s official biographer cannot be accused of falling for his
subject’s justifiably famed charm, he certainly gives the reader enough
evidence to conclude that Henry Kissinger is one of the greatest
Americans in the history of the Republic, someone who has been
repulsively traduced over several decades and who deserved to have
defense of this comprehensiveness published years ago….Niall Ferguson
already has many important, scholarly and controversial books to his
credit. But if the second volume of Kissinger is anywhere near as
comprehensive, well written and riveting as the first, this will be his
masterpiece.” Andrew Roberts, The New York Times Book Review
Review
“Mr. Ferguson offers a remarkably rich discussion of Mr. Kissinger’s
strategic thought and of how it took shape over time… The book… is well
worth reading as a corrective to harsher historical judgments of Mr.
Kissinger.” Wall Street Journal
Review
“Magisterial….Like Mr. Kissinger or loathe him, this is a work of engrossing scholarship.” The Economist
About the Author
Niall Ferguson is Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University, a Senior Research Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University, and a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. The bestselling author of Paper and Iron, The House of Rothschild, The Pity of War, The Cash Nexus, Empire, and Colossus, he also writes regularly for newspapers and magazines all over the world. Since 2003 he has written and presented three highly successful television documentary series for British television: Empire, American Colossus, and, The War of the World.