Customer Reviews

Around the Cragged Hill: A Personal and Political Philosophy

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George F. Kennan, a former ambassador to the Soviet Union, looks back at the 20th century and concludes that the US needs a group of senior advisors to guide US policy. The Council, as he calls it, would be appointed by the President from a list of nominated names, perhaps two from each state. This list would be a role of honor -- just being nominated would be considered to be an honor higher than the Congressional medal of Honor.

Nine people chosen from the list would serve, as the Supreme Court does, for life or until they are seen to be unfit or until they resign. A salary would keep these Council members independent from Congress or President, since they would have a budget to 1) investigate leading questions of the day and 2) implement their suggestions on a trial basis. For example, the COuncil might conclude that donating needs to drug addicts would reduce the spread of AIDs and they could run a trial to test their conclusion. Estimated budget might run $10 million a year.

The focus of his proposal is on the wisdom of experience. People who have seen so much over 40 or 50 years of public service could be called on to give their view of an issue....and the Country would benefit from this experience.

Kennan is still alive (as of August 1998) and he welcomes response to his proposal. I met him in June 1998 and at that time he expressed dismay that not one major book reviewer took his proposal seriously. He's a member of the Princeton Class of 1925, making him 95 years young this year. If you read the book and find it interesting, I"m sure he would appreciate a letter or a postcard with you comments: you can contact him through the University:

George F. Kennan Class of 1925 Alumni Office Princeton University Nassau Street Princeton, NJ 08540

Even after his passing, his family will no doubt appreciate learning that his writings have made a difference. Join him on that cragged hill and you will see the world and its future in a different way.

reviewed by Steve McCrea '81

George Kennan is a rare commodity--an extremely intelligent, literate man who possesses a broad and encompassing view of life and the world at large and who has devoted his life to public service without desire for recognition or acclaim. This book gives the reader an opportunity to participate in his musings and to experience clear-eyed and patriotic visions reminiscent of Jefferson.

Not only students of Kennan's foreign policy writings will get something out of this book. The topics are wide-ranging, and the observations are thought-provoking. I especially enjoyed his thoughts on our addiction to automobiles. One criticism is the writing style, which is generally stuffy and verbose. (For example: "But what, to me, distinguishes this Spirit from the all-powerful Deity of established Christian doctrine is precisely the fact that the Spirit bears, in my view, no responsibility for the natural order of things in which the human individual is compelled to live.") Nevertheless this is a worthwhile book.

George Kennan died a few years back, at age 101 if I'm not mistaken, so he wrote this book when he was around 90 years old. In case you don't know who he was: Kennan was a top American diplomat in early Cold War era, and is considered one of the prime architects of the policy that became known as "containment" of the Soviet Union, especially in the famous "Long Telegram" and "X Article." (Though unfortunately for us, we didn't stick to his original prescription, which called for a much more restrained and less hubristic policy than we actually followed from about 1950 onward. Among other things, Kennan opposed the creation of NATO and the Vietnam War.)

In AROUND THE CRAGGED HILL, Kennan, a scholarly and experienced man, reflects on many topics, including culture, philosophy, politics, and religion. Kennan clearly thinks deeply on all these things - his opinions aren't just based on whim or preference, but on the result of careful consideration.

My personal favorite part of the book - and the one with which I agreed the most - was the seventh chapter, where he addresses size in nations, and in particular in the United States. Kennan makes a compelling case for the virtues of smallness in nations and the problems and dangers of excessive size, including the tendency towards oppressive, disconnected government, regardless of its form. He even suggests breaking the United States down into between nine and twelve republics, a proposition I think makes a lot of sense and would ease many of our problems. At the very least, Kennan thinks we would be better off under a much less centralized system than we currently have.

Though written in a very academic voice, it is still very well-written and should be accessible for the educated layman. I recommend it for any deep-thinking person. I didn't always agree with Kennan on every issue when reading this book, but I always found his opinions and observations thoughtful, well-articulated, and worth reading.

George Kennan is a legendary historical character about whom one could have strong political opinions. This book was written in his latter years (I think he lived to 97!) and it provides fascinating ruminations on life, living and the world in which we live. His perspective could be claimed by many different political stripes but ultimately he is a "gentleman" and there aren't many of those left.