Kissinger's Shadow: The Long Reach of America's Most Controversial Statesman

Greg Grandin (AUTHOR SIGNED)

ISBN 10: 1627794492 / ISBN 13: 9781627794497

Published by Metropolitan Books, New York, NY, 2015

About this Item

Metropolitan Books, New York. 2015. Hardcover. Stated First Edition/First Printing by Line Number. Signed by the author on the title page. Book is tight, square, and unmarked. Book Condition: Near Fine; light edge toning. DJ: Near Fine; Price Clipped; light bumping to head. Black paper over boards and spine with bright silver lettering on the spine. 270 pp 8vo. This book is a new account of America's most controversial diplomat that moves beyond praise or condemnation to reveal Kissinger as the architect of America's current imperial stance. The author argues that to understand the crisis of contemporary America--its never-ending wars abroad and political polarization at home--we have to understand Henry Kissinger. Examining Kissinger's own writings, as well as a wealth of newly declassified documents, he reveals how Richard Nixon's top foreign policy advisor, even as he was presiding over defeat in Vietnam and a disastrous, secret, and illegal war in Cambodia, was helping to revive a militarized version of American exceptionalism centered on an imperial presidency. Believing that reality could be bent to his will, insisting that intuition is more important in determining policy than hard facts, and vowing that past mistakes should never hinder future bold action, Kissinger anticipated, even enabled, the ascendance of the neoconservative idealists who took America into crippling wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A clean very presentable copy.

Seller Inventory # 018781

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Kissinger's Shadow: The Long Reach of America's Most Controversial Statesman
• Publisher: Metropolitan Books, New York, NY
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1627794492
• ISBN 13: 9781627794497
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Biographies
  • U.S. History/ Politics/ Presidental Matters
  • Vietnam War/Vietnam

About this title

Synopsis

A new account of America's most controversial diplomat that moves beyond praise or condemnation to reveal Kissinger as the architect of America's current imperial stance

In his fascinating new book Kissinger's Shadow, acclaimed historian Greg Grandin argues that to understand the crisis of contemporary America―its never-ending wars abroad and political polarization at home―we have to understand Henry Kissinger.

Examining Kissinger's own writings, as well as a wealth of newly declassified documents, Grandin reveals how Richard Nixon's top foreign policy advisor, even as he was presiding over defeat in Vietnam and a disastrous, secret, and illegal war in Cambodia, was helping to revive a militarized version of American exceptionalism centered on an imperial presidency. Believing that reality could be bent to his will, insisting that intuition is more important in determining policy than hard facts, and vowing that past mistakes should never hinder future bold action, Kissinger anticipated, even enabled, the ascendance of the neoconservative idealists who took America into crippling wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Going beyond accounts focusing either on Kissinger's crimes or accomplishments, Grandin offers a compelling new interpretation of the diplomat's continuing influence on how the United States views its role in the world.

About the Author

Greg Grandin is the author of The Empire of Necessity; Fordlandia, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award; as well as Empire's Workshop and The Blood of Guatemala. A professor of history at New York University and a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the New York Public Library, Grandin has served on the UN Truth Commission investigating the Guatemalan Civil War and has written for the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, & The New York Times.