Of some interest to aspiring geopoliticians, but Kissinger’s conventional wisdom won’t surprise previous readers.
A middling attempt to argue the greatness of Margaret Thatcher, Charles de Gaulle, and, of course, Richard Nixon.
How many more times will Kissinger try to exonerate Nixon, and thereby himself? As many times as he can put out a book, evidently. In a constellation of political leaders, all known to him, he exalts six case studies—and he’s not shy of laying claim to some of their collective greatness. One figure will be little known to those outside Kissinger’s circles: Konrad Adenauer, who guided Germany out of its postwar devastation “by abandoning its decades-long quest for domination of Europe…and rebuilding it on a moral foundation which reflected his own Christian values and democratic convictions.” Lee Kuan Yew attempted to make a similar new world with the new state of Singapore. Thatcher and de Gaulle, though not quite contemporaries, brought different versions of a united Europe to the table, with de Gaulle leading a transformation of France from imperial and colonial power to stable democracy and Thatcher holding Europe at arm’s length in what might be seen as the first rumblings of Brexit. Kissinger, as always, tends to the long and sometimes bloodless, as when he writes of Anwar Sadat, “as a minister to Nasser, he had gravitated toward frameworks governed more by state sovereignty than by imperial hegemony or regional solidarity.” The author’s bid for Nixon to be seen as a moral leader falls flat. What elevates the book is the conclusion, which examines the distinctions between aristocratic and meritocratic leadership and the contributions of meritocracy and growing democracy to a political milieu that “enabled and institutionalized the rise of middle-class leaders.” Such middle-class leaders can, of course, go bad—witness Putin—but all the same, Kissinger calls for a revival of “humanistic education” and character in helping “guide the ship of state to an unknown, but more secure and peaceful, harbor.”
Of some interest to aspiring geopoliticians, but Kissinger’s conventional wisdom won’t surprise previous readers.Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48944-4
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Penguin Press
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorker staff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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