Description
Book SynopsisA fresh portrait of Henry Kissinger focusing on the fundamental ideas underlying his policies: realism, balance of power and national interest.
Trade Review"Gewen's book… is distinctive in that it is, above all, an account of Kissinger's intellectual universe." -- Gideon Rachman - Financial Times
"Gewen seeks to escape [a] cartoon depiction of Kissinger... He does so successfully with sympathy for his subject, subtlety, good writing and not a little humour... Gewen tells us that Kissinger is more than a figure out of history, and that we dismiss or ignore him at our peril… Where are the 21st-century’s Henry Kissingers when we need them?" -- Christopher Meyer - The Spectator
"A timely new book on Henry Kissinger—
The Inevitability of Tragedy by Barry Gewen—provides new insight into what might have gone wrong and landed the US in a late imperial funk." -- Iain Martin - The Times
"[Gewen] remind[s] us of a very interesting and complex personality." -- Roger Boyes - The Times
"In this magisterial account, Gewen… traces the historical and philosophical roots of Kissinger’s famous realism, situating him in the context of Hannah Arendt and a cohort of other Jewish intellectuals who escaped Nazi Germany." -- 100 Notable Books of 2020 - The New York Times Book Review
"Timely and acute... A thoughtful rumination on human behavior, philosophy and international relations." -- John A. Farrell - The New York Times Book Review
"Barry Gewen delivered a new biography of Henry Kissinger’s life and work." -- 2020 in US politics books - The Guardian
