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  • Kissinger

  • 1923-1968: The Idealist
  • By: Niall Ferguson
  • Narrated by: Roy McMillan
  • Length: 33 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (30 ratings)

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Kissinger

By: Niall Ferguson
Narrated by: Roy McMillan
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Publisher's Summary

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Kissinger: The Idealist by Niall Ferguson, read by Roy McMillan.

No American statesman has been as revered and as reviled as Henry Kissinger. Hailed by some as the 'indispensable man' whose advice has been sought by every president from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush, Kissinger has also attracted immense hostility from critics who have cast him as an amoral Machiavellian - the ultimate cold-blooded 'realist'.

In this remarkable new book, the first of two volumes, Niall Ferguson has created an extraordinary panorama of Kissinger's world and a paradigm-shifting reappraisal of the man. Only through knowledge of Kissinger's early life (as a Jew in Hitler's Germany, a poor immigrant in New York, a GI at the Battle of the Bulge, an interrogator of Nazis and a student of history at Harvard) can we understand his debt to the philosophy of idealism. And only by tracing his rise, fall and revival as an adviser to Kennedy, Nelson Rockefeller and, finally, Richard Nixon can we appreciate the magnitude of his contribution to the theory of diplomacy, grand strategy and nuclear deterrence.

Drawing not only on Kissinger's hitherto closed private papers but also on documents from more than 100 archives around the world, this biography is Niall Ferguson's masterpiece. Like his classic two-volume history The House of Rothschild, Kissinger sheds dazzling new light on an entire era.

©2017 Niall Ferguson (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"Riveting...this will be his masterpiece." (Andrew Roberts, The New York Times)
"For big, bold and compelling, it is impossible to ignore Kissinger." (John Bew, New Statesman - 'Books of the Year')
"This is a superb history of the modern world as well as a biography of Kissinger...a tour de force." (William Shawcross, The Times)

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He still seems inaccessible to me

An interesting book entertainingly read. The period of history covered by the life story of the subject was always going to be facinating and is no less so when examined from the perspective of Kissinger.

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The best way to learn history

A well read book. Exceptionally well researched as expected of any book by Niall Ferguson. The story is very well constructed and is constantly engaging.
Ferguson maintains a constant theme throughout as he developes the person of Kissinger.
Would happily listen again.

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  • 26-10-2021

Incisive and authoritative

The life and, even more the times, of Kissinger. Adds to the understanding of the emergence of Strategic Studies as a discipline and also the importance of understanding history rather than law in the conduct of public policy.

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