Customer Reviews

Nixon's Ten Commandments of Statecraft

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Among the growing number of books in this genre of leadership books, this is a good one. It offers some practical advice on negotiation and diplomacy from the Nixon standpoint. One of the many bright spots of this book is that the author really has a lot of great things to say about Nixon and other world leaders (the author obviously is a master historian). One drawback of his intimate dealings with Nixon, though, is that Humes sometimes comes off as defending Nixon. Otherwise, though, this book could be really useful for anyone wanting to know a little bit about diplomacy (I knew nothing before I read this book). Humes presents lots of useful tactics for aspiring leaders. I recommend this book and also Warren Bennis's Leaders: Strategies For Taking Charge.

This book works on two levels. The first as a great description of Nixon's 10 commandments and why they work. The second is the application or misapplication of these principles by world leaders throughout history and the consequences.

All ten offer much wisdom, but my favorite is: NEVER GIVE UP UNILATERALLY WHAT COULD BE USED AS A BARGAINING CHIP. MAKE YOUR ADVERSARIES GIVE UP SOMETHING FOR EVERYTHING THEY GET. Here Humes explains that giving up something that is meaningless to you, as a token of good will, may come back to weaken your overall bargaining position. He explains how LBJ conceded so many small points to Brezhnev early on, that when the bargaining began, LBJ could only offer up those things that he held dear in order to gain those things that Breznev would have given away cheaply.

Bargaining from a position of strength seems to run through all 10 commandments and no doubt some people will find these tactics heavy-handed, but Humes describes examples such as Jimmy Carter and Neville Chamberlain, who discounted strength in the name of idealism, and ultimately became case-studies in the failure of leadership.

I found the book fascinating on a political scale, but the principles certainly apply to the workplace. Knowing what you have and what they want will better help you get what you want.

This book gives excellent insight into Nixon's theories of statesmanship, not just as President, but as Vice-President, candidate, and then exiled and reviled former President. Humes shows his admiration of his friend and former boss, but doesn't let it color his presentation of facts surrounding events, and Nixon's approaches to those events. Not just a nuts-and-bolts, he-did-this-then-he-did-that narrative, Humes intersperses stories that entertain and inform, to support his "Ten Commandments." If you care about ANY foreign policy issues or are curious about "What would Nixon do?" it will be easy for you to apply what Humes writes to today's issues. Worth every penny!!

This book provides outstanding insight into the principles of negotiation which can be applied to any discipline.

Additionally, the examples provided are both relevant to each "commandment" and interesting from a historical perspective for important events.

James C. Humes views Nixon as the master of geopolitics in post-war America. For almost 50 views, longer than any other American, Nixon remained a leading force in Cold War diplomacy. Almost 25 years after Nixon's resignation, historians and pundits are beginning to accurately see Nixon as more than the Watergate Man. Humes makes no secret of his admiration for Nixon as a negotiator and as a person who knew the world's history and was able to apply its lessons to the geopolitical world of his day.

Put this one on the shelf of your professional library--it is one of my favorite books. The other reviewers here have well stated what you are likely to see when reading this book. "Statecraft" is a word that I didn't understand before I read this book, but it's easy to understand once you've started reading it. Pure and simple, this book is really about negotiating--it's just presented in a clever way.
I believe that the publishers tried to make the book more appealing by changing the wording of the title in later printings: Nixon's Ten Commandments of Leadership and Negotiation: His Guiding Principles of Statecraft. To me, this weakened the message, rather than strengthening it.
Regardless of how the title is worded for the volume a reader may consider purchasing, it's a great read and an excellent reference volume, at a great price.