Kissinger [Hardcover]

Marvin L. Kalb (Author), Bernard Kalb (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 577 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Company; 1St Edition edition (August 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316482218
• ISBN-13: 978-0316482219
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,012,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kissinger by Kalb, July 22, 2004

By 

Joseph S. Maresca "Dr. Joseph S. Maresca CPA,... (Bronxville, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kissinger (Hardcover)

Dr. Kissinger stands as a premier Secretary of State in the
previous century. The work begins with his early years at Harvard; wherein, he was denied tenure initially. Dr. Kissinger
worked for 4 Administrations. He argued very strenuously with
the Vietnamese, Chinese and the Soviets. After a short period
in government, he emerged as an interesting diplomatic figure.
He quickly rose to be Secretary of State, although he was
anti-Nixon originally. The former President sought to hire him
immediately and to bring him to the center of power as soon as
possible. The Kissinger diplomacy required high intellect,
strategy and patience in its implementation. His performance
was a virtuoso balancing act. Occasionally, he would sacrifice
form in order to gain substance in a negotiation. Initially,
Harvard denied him tenure because they believed that he had
greater designs in the area of government service. By late 1957,
Dr. Kissinger returned to Harvard to secure a tenured position.
The Kissinger technique was to pose a "spectrum of possibilities"
in order to confound the Soviets in the foreign policy arena.
His approach to the NSC was to combind the best of the departments of State and Defense. The Secretary disliked too
many small details in favor of studying the "big picture".
Conceptually, he envisioned strategies more in the Kennedy
style than the Eisenhower paper trail. Dr. Kissinger concerned
himself with the important details of "verification" in the
SALT treaties. He found in President Nixon- a willingness to
accept re-unification of Vietnam in exchange for a verifiable
peace. In the later part of 1971, he visited Peking to pave the
way for a visit by President Nixon in May of 1972. The famous
visit accomplished a normalization of relations with China.By
January of 1974, Dr. Kissinger bartered a disengagement of
Egyptian and Israeli forces from the Suez Canal. He continued
to influence public policy long after his tenure as the
Secretary of State. This work attests to a solid career in
public service with many diplomatic achievements and honoraria
to attest to his many accomplishments.