Years of Upheaval: by Herny Kis [Hardcover]

Rh Value Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1987

In Years of Upheaval Henry Kissinger recalls the turbulent years of the second Administration of Richard Nixon, which began on 20 January 1973. Two momentous events and their consequences dominate this account: the Watergate scandal, and the 1973 October war in the Middle East. The books opens at the Western White House on a summer afternoon in August of that year, when Dr Kissinger is told by the President during a poolside conversation that he is to become Secretary of State. The memories that follow are a rich compendium of his experiences in the months before and after appointment: an eerie trip to Hanoi shortly after the Vietnam cease-fire; efforts to settle the war in Cambodia; two Nixon-Brezhnev summits and the controversy over detente; the Shah of Iran; the oil crisis and the efforts to covercome it; the US airlift to Israel and the military alert during the Middle East war; the origins of shuttle diplomacy; the fall of Salvador Allende in Chile; and the events surrounding Nixon's resignation. His frank portrait of Nixon's last days is perhaps the most perceptive to date At once illuminating, fascinating, and profound, Years of Upheaval is a lasting contribution to the history of our time, by one of its chief protagonists.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry Kissinger, former National Security Adviser, Secretary of State and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, lives in New York City --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Random House Value Publishing (February 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517639114
• ISBN-13: 978-0517639115
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,310,088 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "They sew the wind and reap the whirlwind. . .", April 9, 2001

By 

Harold Y. Grooms (Prattville, AL USA) - See all my reviews

This second volume of Henry Kissinger's memoirs begins with Nixon's sweeping victory in the 1972 presidential election over George McGovern. Nixon/Kissinger, now operating with an overwhelming national mandate initiated some of the most formidable foreign policy initiatives in history. Success seemed inevitable. However, there was a cancer growing on the Nixon presidency, one that would ultimately prove fatal; it was called, "Watergate."

The Nixon/Kissinger team did the seemingly impossible by negotiating an end to the war in Vietnam. Sadly, after Congress refused further support to South Vietnam, all they could do was watch as the Communists systematically violated every agreement solemnly sworn to in Paris. His description of the strange alliance between liberals and conservatives to hamstring the presidency is interesting. George Wallace said, "Politics makes strange bedfellows!" Never were, "bedfellows," so strange as here.

The crisis in the Mid-east made the author a legend in his own time. He describes the key leaders and analyzes their positions and motivations brilliantly. From these analyses, the famous, "shuttle diplomacy" that forged a peace agreement between the seemingly intractable parties was born. Students of international relations should read this section carefully.

Not all was well. The Year of Europe, the Arab oil-embargo, and the decline of détente were all seen during this period. Regrettably, all probably could have been accomplished except for Watergate.

Kissinger shows how Watergate steadily sapped the presidents' base of support, preventing him from operating effectively. Congress, the media, and even some members of his own cabinet eventually turned on him. Kissinger's explanation of how this was handled domestically and internationally is essential reading for political scientists and students of international relations.

The title of this review comes from the the book of Hosea, Chapter 8, Verse 7 of the Holy Bible. Despite good intentions and spectacular successes, Nixon had "sewn the wind" with his unnecessary misdeeds during the election. He then "reaped the whirlwind" of protest caused by moral outrage and national discontent stemming from a decade of war. Was this justified? You decide!

Years of Upheaval is essential reading for historians of the period, political scientists and students of international relations. I highly recommend it to anyone desiring insight into the events of this turbulent era.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, January 20, 2001

By 

Ron Kozar (Dayton, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Years of Upheaval (Hardcover)

What I most enjoyed about this book were (1) Kissinger's analyses of leaders and diplomats like Sadat, Meir, Dayan, Mao, and Chou (the last of whom he seems to admire the most), (2) his humor, as when he describes his dinner with King Faisal or how he missed the TV announcement about his appointment as Secretary of State, and (3) his candid portrayal of Nixon, who comes off as awkward and bizarre. Kissinger's own egomania is very much in evidence, but in a way that is entertaining rather than irritating, because you can tell that he is not trying very hard to conceal it.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Action under the most difficult of circumstances, January 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Years of Upheaval (Hardcover)

In this continuing memoir, Henry Kissinger writes of his experiences of his transition from National Security Advisor to Secretary of State during a point in the Nixon Administration that represented the greatest constitutional crisis in America since the Civil War. Starting with the beginning of Richard Nixon's second term, Kissinger goes into stunning detail by describing the immense frustrations in trying to stop the war, not only with Vietnam, but also with Cambodia and Laos. He goes on to discuss "The Year of Europe", a soon to be defunct policy about American action in Europe in 1973. Naturally, the Year of Europe was mortally wounded by Watergate. The Watergate scandal politically forced Nixon to make Kissinger, one of the most Popular people in America, The New Secretary of State. In that role, Kissinger continued and extended his influence in such matters as SALT, and a hugely surprising war between Israel and an Egyptian-Syrian coalition. He discusses his gradual high respect for Anwar Sadat, and his mother-son like relationship with Golda Meir. Most importantly, he discusses his interactions with the soon to resign Richard Nixon. This book does its best work by teaching respect for foreign policy leaders who are in almost impossible positions and who must find a way to make their country safer in the world.