Customer Reviews

The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made : Acheson, Bohlen, Harriman, Kennan, Lovett, McCloy

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In a 1996 interview with David Gergen on NPR, one of this book's central characters makes a case for, what I will hazard to suggest, is one of the authors' central views;

DAVID GERGEN: Let me ask you this in terms of thinking back over then of that period of American foreign policy in the last forty or fifty years, one of the ironies here is that in an age of information you suggest we have too little wisdom.
GEORGE KENNAN: Yes, I do, and one of the things that bothers me about the computer culture of the present age is that one of the things of which it seems to me we have the least need is further information. What we really need is intelligent guidance in what to do with the information we've got.

Thus The Wise Men becomes a paean to, as the authors' admit at the outset, "the twentieth-century tradition of an informal brain trust of internationalists who first served Woodrow Wilson at Versailles and returned home to found the Council on Foreign Relations, " establishing along the way, "a distinguished network connecting Wall Street, Washington, worthy foundations, and proper clubs." The polemics about where one finds wisdom aside, The Wise Men provides a fascinating and uncompromising study of the evolution of U.S. foreign policy vis-à-vis the Soviet Union from the establishment of formal relations during the Roosevelt administration to Vietnam from the perspective of six of it's most significant players; Dean Acheson, Charles "Chip" Bohlen, Averell Harriman, George Kennan, Robert Lovett and John McCloy with side trips into electoral politics and the Middle East. Although I found the authors' fascination with many of these individuals' membership in Harvard's elite Porcellian and Yale's Skull and Bones clubs a bit off-putting (to say nothing of the not-so-veiled apologia for a certain social elitism . . . call me a populist), it would be difficult to find six more pivotal characters. The arguably lesser stars make significant appearances, most notably the Alsop and Bundy brothers, Clark Clifford, James Forrestal and Paul Nitze. I will even forgive the authors' treatment of one of my heroes', George Kennan's, emotional shortcomings. For those of a certain ideological bent, John Foster Dulles and Dean Rusk are not treated sympathetically. It all rings true notwithstanding and The Wise Men makes an excellent post-war study of U.S. foreign policy particularly as a counterpoint to David Halberstam's "Best and the Brightest" for those too busy or cheap to subscribe to Foreign Affairs.

... of a ten-year-old book that shouldn't be forgotten, the "biography" of American foreign policy from the Truman years to the apotheosis of Reagan. Like most biographies, this one concentrates on the childhood of the Cold War containment/exhaustion strategy, the DNA so to speak of neo-conservatism, born of a Democratic mother and a Republican father. Any reader of my other reviews, who doubts my assertion that Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Bush were mere inheritors of a foreign policy as rigidly sustained as if by primogeniture, should take on this book as ferociously as you dare.

The six Wise Men -- McCloy, Bohlen, Acheson, Lovett, Harriman, and Kennan -- would be the last to blush at being identified as "The Greatest Generation" or "The Best and the Brightest." Their egos and their sense of elite entitlement to lead are central to their story. This is a deeper portrait of their intellectual mode than either of those two just-mentioned best-sellers. Authors Isaacson and Thomas are clearly of the same "old school" as their subjects. Their admiration is in a sense self-adulation; even when the Wise Men acknowledged errors, the very nature of their errors turned out to reflect wisdom. My own admiration for the six is considerably more limited, but it's hard to deny the authors' thesis that these Yale and Harvard whiz-kids and their colleagues were the movers-and-shakers of administration after administration. Even as some of them lost a portion of their self-assurance in light of the massive failure in Vietnam, they continued to limn the hegemonist, exceptionalist conception of America which has continued to fail up to the current massive failure in Iraq. Given that all six were perceived as "liberals" aligned with Democratic administrations, some partisans of the other party may come to this book with an established antipathy toward its subjects. All I can say to that is "read it and learn!"

This book is fantastically interesting. The detail and the descriptions of personalities involved make the subject matter more than palatable, even to the less scholarly among us. The book is, however, very, very long and would have perhaps been better broken up into several volumes. I would characterize it as very well written, exhaustively researched, slightly fawning and uncritical at times, and, in general, well worth lugging around.

A very interesting book, but you have to be able to read between
the lines. Isaacson paints a picture of six powerful men who did
everything they could for US and mankind in general.
Another reviewer used the words fawning and uncritical to
describe the book. Well, there is a good reason for that.
Walter Isaacson, head of Aspen Institute, is himself a member
of the same "Insider Establishment" as the six men in
the book.
For kissing up, he has also been made a member of the
powerful Council on Foreign Relations.
This book should be combined with other more critical or
even negative writings on the subject to help build a more
realistic view.
For example I recommend books by the late Anthony Sutton.

Averell Harriman was a particularly unsavoury character, a
notorious Bilderberger, whose nefarious machinations are
becoming more and more known to the public, even
though still much is suppressed by the media.

Some people I have talked to think that the book should be called "the Wise Guys" instead of "the Wise Men" , but personally I wouldn't go that far.
The world isn't just black and white after all. These guys
looked after their own like everybody else on the planet and maybe, just maybe, in the meantime something good came out of it.

This is a fascinating "collective biography" of six major, interrelated figures in the American establishment from the 1930s into the 1960s. Some might think of this as another "Best and Brightest," set earlier in time. But Halberstam's use of that term was ironic; here, the authors are not speaking ironically when they refer to the six as "the original brightest and best" (Page 19).

The beginning lays out what follows. Isaacson and Thomas observe that (Page 19): "Six friends. Their lives intertwined from childhood and schooldays, from their early days on Wall Street and in government. Now they were to be destined to be at the forefront of a remarkable transformation of American policy." They (Page 19) ". . .knew that America would have to assume the burden of a global role." And, say the authors, their (Page 19) ". . .outsized personalities and forceful actions brought order to the postwar chaos and left a legacy that dominates American policy to this day."

Those are some powerful statements. Does the book back these up? To a considerable extent, yes. But these six can hardly be said to have been the orchestrators. They were surely players, but to say that they were the architects of the American century (the title of the chapter in which these quotations are embedded) is too strong a statement.

Who were those among this sextet? George Kennan, Dean Acheson, Charles ("Chip") Bohlen, Robert Lovett, Averell Harriman, and John McCloy. From their youth, they were trained to expect doing large things. For instance, Harriman took over his father's economic empire and grew it. Later in his life, he was elected as governor of New York (only to be defeated by Nelson Rockefeller after serving one term).

The story shows the interconnections among them. Harriman coached Acheson in rowing at Yale, for instance. As they matured, they sought careers in business. Later, all became interested in public service under the FDR Administration. The book chronicles their achievements (and some failures) in considerable detail from FDR's term on. The friction that flared among some from time to time is also discussed. They played major roles in the Truman Administration.

Later, when Lyndon Johnson tried to dissect what to do in Vietnam, he held a number of meetings, in which many of the "wise men" participated. Given Halberstam's discussion of the "best and brightest" who got the country into Vietnam and couldn't figure out how to succeed there, the "wise men" were opposed and raised their questions with Johnson.

Then, their final years and their fates. . . .

I think that there could be a somewhat more critical cast to the work, but it does a great job of portraying these eminent players in American politics. If there has been an "establishment," they were surely part of that in their time. I think that the authors may overestimate their impact, but they surely made a difference.

This was a fascinating and well-written book about six men that are probably unknown to today's general public but shaped US Foreign Policy from post WWI through Vietnam. Their lives moved through the 20th century intertwined via elite prep schools, Yale/Harvard, investment banking firms, law firms, high level cabinet roles and foreign policy posts. Their advice to the Presidents resulted in tragic wars - some right and some wrong, the strategies that prevented nuclear annihilation but also may have resulted in elongating the Cold War.

Isaacson and Thomas also provide a multi-sided view into each one's personality but especially Dean Acheson, George Kennan and Averill Harriman. We see their strengths of brilliance, integrity and deep patriotism but also their weaknesses. Kennan was overly sensitive, conducive to self-pity and had a tendency for literary flair and verbosity. Harriman became more self interested after WWII and sometimes placed politics over diplomacy. Acheson's persona came across as elitist, condescending and pompous which turned away many liberals, moderates and conservatives even when they agreed with his views.

The right schools, the right families and the right wealth played a large role in giving these six men the opportunity to shape the century. One can argue if that tradition has continued today or not. What may be different is that their vision and actions seemed to be more defined by pragmatism rather than ideology. The results are not always what we wanted but far better than the foes they battled that placed ideology over pragmatism.

Six American boys who were childhood friends, and who held few public offices, came through their individual and collective efforts to simply design the whole world just after World Ware II.
These six men, Dean Acheson, Charles Bohlen, Averell Harriman, George Kennen, Robert Lovett and John McCloy really did design the whole world. Their lives had intertwined from childhood and schooldays, from their early careers on Wall Street and in government jobs.
By breeding and training these six men and a few of their close colleagues knew that America would have to assume the burden of a global role. Out of duty and desire, they heeded the call to public service.
They were the original best and brightest, men whose outsized personalities and forceful actions brought order to the post-war chaos and left a legacy that dominates the way the world works to this very day.
This book is masterfully written by Walter Isaacson, now of Time magazine, and Evan Thomas, currently Assistant Managing Editor at Newsweek.
They bring the hundreds of world defining moments into clear focus and illustrate how effective six citizens can be.
The book very easily readable and I just could not put it down until I had finished it. The book can take you on an exciting ride through the myriad events that created the world we live in today.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Each of the six contributed differently. George Kennan, a foreign service officer and then scholar, was the most cerebral and prescient. Dean Acheson was the most arrogant. Robert Lovett had the best sense of humor which served him well in dealing with Congress and others endowed with super egos. Averell Harriman was the wealthiest and the most tenacious. John McCloy was the most accomplished. Charles (Chip) Bohlen was a foreign service officer with distinguished longevity.

These individuals were great statesmen. Except for Kennan, at first they were all in favor of US involvement in the Vietnam War. Even very accomplished statesmen misgauged Vietnam.

I highly recommend this book despite its length. It is one of my favorite books.

Not only kept me entertained, but completely changed my views on the post WWII era. A must read for anyone remotely interested in history or politics.

Yes, it is a long book, but it flies by. I found this book fascinating, even looking at the personal lives of these men. I do not like biographies usually, but this one did a nice job of going through the beginnings of each man here. This world needs diplomats and leaders like the kind described here. It is fashionable now to bash "elites" but when you read this, you realize that we sure could use some elites now in our halls of power, like these men, who were privileged youths and adults. I would love to find a book just like this soon, because I am almost sorry that I finished this already.