Years of Renewal - Hardcover

Kissinger, Henry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0684855712 ISBN 13: 9780684855714

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1999

Synopsis

A third and final volume in the best-selling memoirs of one of the century's most influential political thinkers begins with Nixon's resignation and discusses his "shuttle" diplomacy in the Mideast, offering clear-eyed portrayals of figures such as Mao and Brezhnev. 150,000 first printing. Tour.

About this title

Review:

There is an old joke that Henry Kissinger is so full of himself he once wrote a book called Famous People Who Have Met Me. That strong sense of self is on full display in this third volume of memoirs (the other two are White House Years and Years of Upheaval). Kissinger, a national security advisor and secretary of state in the Nixon and Ford administrations, is a foreign-policy maestro fond of describing the difficult subtleties of his job. He is also, at times, generous with his praise--especially with this whopper: "I am certain the time will come when it is recognized that the Cold War could not have been won had not Gerald Ford, at a tragic point of America's history, been there to keep us from losing it." Years of Renewal begins during Nixon's final days, and provides a few key insights into the man Kissinger calls "perhaps [the] most complex President of the twentieth century." One eye opener is the revelation that Nixon ordered the bombing of the Damascus airport in 1969 during a hijacking incident "to impress his pals." (It was called off the next morning.) The bulk of the book (and bulk is the right word--there are nearly 1,100 pages of text before the footnotes) focuses on Ford, who comes across as much more statesmanlike than the popular image of him as a bungling caretaker. The portraits of contemporary world leaders are also valuable. Kissinger combines detail and clarity to deliver an important chronicle of American diplomacy during the 1970s. --John Miller

About the Author:

Henry A. Kissinger was sworn in on September 22, 1973, as the fifty-sixth Secretary of State, a position he held until January 20, 1977. He also served as Assistant to President for National Security Affairs from January 20, 1969, until November 3, 1975.

Among the awards Dr. Kissinger has received have been the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation's highest civilian award) in 1977, and the Medal of Liberty in 1986.

Dr. Kissinger was born in Fuerth, Germany, came to the United States in 1938, and was naturalized a United States citizen in 1943. He served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946. He graduated suma cum laude from Harvard College in 1950 and received M.A. and Ph.D degrees from Harvard University in 1952 and 1954.

From 1954 until 1969 he was a member of the faculty of Harvard University, in both the Department of Government and the Center International Affairs. He was Director of the Harvard International Seminar from 1952 to 1969.

At present, Dr. Kissinger is Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0684855712
• ISBN 13: 9780684855714
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1152