Customer Reviews

George F. Kennan: Memoirs, 1950-1963

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Having just finished this book, I came to Amazon to both look for his 1925-1950 memoirs, and to see if I could glean anything from reviews of the later volume.

Just as brevity is said to be the soul of wit, a succinct review may often serve to advise the curious as to a volume of possible interest more efficiently than an interminable panegyric, so a few points, seriatim:

Kennan wrote well; it is a pleasure to read his text, as he was capable of shading his expression to convey situations and concepts with great precision.

Kennan had a comprehensive grasp of the political interplay between the U.S. and the countries he was concerned with. This is especially apparent in his discussion of Soviet policy metamorphosis between 1945 and the start of the Korean war. (the book is worth buying for this knowledge alone).

Mr. Kennan is prone to slight bit of narcissism, whining and somewhat repellent intellectual snobbery, but it is limited and does not seriously detract from a pleasurable book that you will not regret either purchasing or reading.

GEORGE FROST KENNAN's Pulitzer Prize-winning "MEMOIRS" are in two volumes, starting 1925 then ending 1963.

YET from all accounts he was still active and on the State Department's "consulting payroll" well afterward.

Is there anyone filling "the gap"?

OR did I miss an authorized biographer along the way?

Should I go to "The Hawk and the Dove" (c. 2009) more recently for hints and answers?