Books by Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger analyses how six extraordinary leaders he has known have shaped their countries and the world'Leaders,' writes Henry Kissinger in this compelling book, 'think and act at the intersection of two axes: the first, between the past and the future; the second between the abiding values and aspirations of those they lead. They must balance what they know, which is necessarily drawn from the past, with what they intuit about the future, which is inherently conjectural and uncertain. It is this intuitive grasp of direction that enables leaders to set objectives and lay down a strategy.'In Leadership, Kissinger analyses the lives of six extraordinary leaders through the distinctive strategies of statecraft which he believes they embodied. After the Second World War, Konrad Adenauer brought defeated and morally bankrupt Germany back into the community of nations by what Kissinger calls 'the strategy of humility'. Charles de Gaulle set France beside the victorious Allies and renewed its historic grandeur by 'the strategy of will'. During the Cold War, Richard Nixon gave geostrategic advantage to the United States by 'the strategy of equilibrium'. After twenty-five years of conflict, Anwar Sadat brought a vision of peace to the Middle East by a 'strategy of transcendence'. Against the odds, Lee Kwan Yew created a powerhouse city-state, Singapore, by 'the strategy of excellence'. Although when she came to power Britain was known as 'the sick man of Europe', Margaret Thatcher renewed her country's morale and international position by 'the strategy of conviction'.To each of these studies, Kissinger brings historical perception, public experience and - because he knew each of their subjects, and participated in many of the events he describes - personal knowledge. The book is enriched by insights and judgements such as only he could make, and concludes with his reflections on world order and the indispensability of leadership today.

As Henry Kissinger observes in this magisterial book, there has never been a true world order. For most of history, civilizations have defined their own concepts of order, each one envisioning its distinct principles as universally relevant. Now, as international affairs take place on a global basis, these historic concepts of world order are meeting. Every region participates in questions of high policy in every other, often instantaneously - yet there is no consensus among the major actors about the rules and limits guiding this process, or its ultimate destination. The result is mounting tension.Blending historical insight with prognostication, World Order is a meditation from one of our era's most prominent diplomats on the 21st century's ultimate challenge: how to build a shared international order in a world of divergent historic perspectives, violent conflict, proliferating technology and ideological extremism.

For more than twenty years after the Communist Revolution in 1949, China and most of the western world had no diplomats in each others' capitals and no direct way to communicate. Then, in July 1971, Henry Kissinger arrived secretly in Beijing on a mission which quickly led to the reopening of relations between China and the West and changed the course of post-war history.For the past forty years, Kissinger has maintained close relations with successive generations of Chinese leaders, and has probably been more intimately connected with China at the highest level than any other western figure. This book distils his unique experience and long study of the 'Middle Kingdom', examining China's history from the classical era to the present day, and explaining why it has taken the extraordinary course that it has.The book concentrates on the decades since 1949, presenting brilliantly drawn portraits of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping and other Chinese leaders, and reproducing verbatim Kissinger's conversations with each of them. But Kissinger's eye rarely leaves the long continuum of Chinese history: he describes the essence of China's approach to diplomacy, strategy and negotiation, and the remarkable ways in which Communist-era statesmen have drawn on methods honed over millennia. At the end of the book, Kissinger reflects on these attitudes for our own era of economic interdependence and an uncertain future. On China is written with great authority, complete accessibility and with many wider reflections on statecraft and diplomacy distilled from years of experience. At a moment when the rest of the world is thinking about China more than ever before, this timely book offers insights that no other can.

Overblik over fred og ufred i verden gennem 400 år for den historisk og politisk interesserede læser. Høj moral og idealisme hører ikke hjemme i udenrigspolitik. Statsmandskunst skal bygge på pragmatiske magtbalancer. Holdningen kan tilskrives Henry Kissinger – ofte regnet for en mørkets fyrste pga. sit engagement i Vietnamkrigen, den amerikanske støtte til latinamerikanske militærdiktaturer, nedrustningsaftaler med Sovjetunionen osv. Som sikkerhedsrådgiver for præsidenterne Nixon og Ford og udenrigsminister i årene 1968-75 nåede Kissinger at udrette meget. Som privat rådgiver, analytiker og historiker fortsatte han med at øve stor indflydelse på siddende præsidenter og regeringer. Verdens orden er Kissingers testamente, som med stor autoritet samler hans personlige erfaringer som realpolitiker og analytiske iagttagelser som historiker og professor i Statskundskab. Bogen gennemgår verdens orden og ikke mindst uorden gennem de seneste 400 år. Hvilke kræfter og idealer har drevet verdenshistorien frem mod i dag? Udgangspunktet er Europa: Den westfalske Fred bragte i 1648 blodighederne mellem stridende katolikker og protestanter til ophør, hvorefter den pragmatiske magtbalance mellem velordnede, men indbyrdes forskellige stater bliver ifølge forfatteren idealet og en drivkraft i europæisk og senere amerikansk politik. Kissinger når omkring alle kontinenter og epoker; fra korstog til islam, verdenskrigene, den kolde krig og Kinas nye rolle efter østblokkens fald og det arabiske forår. Ironisk er det, at det i dag er Østasien, som har taget princippet om at opretholde en stabiliserende magtbalance til sig. Europa er svækket, mens USA for alvor er tynget af konflikter med Rusland og Mellemøsten. USA er efterhånden en retræte-magt; landets principper om retsstat, demokratisk praksis og dyrkelsen af individets rettigheder har vist sig svære at eksportere. Det arabiske forår bliver ikke undtagelsen, men bekræfter ifølge Kissingers kulturpessimistiske syn reglen: Tilbage står, at den højeste magt er staters gensidige respekt. Henry Kissinger, født 1923 i Tyskland, flygtede sammen med sin familie i 1938 fra jødeforfølgelserne i Europa til USA. Han blev i 1962 professor i statskundskab ved Harvard University. I 1969 udnævnte præsident Nixon ham til national sikkerhedsrådgiver og fra 1973-77 var han udenrigsminister. I 1973 blev han tildelt Nobels Fredspris.

Henry Kissinger's book is a formidable and unapologetic response from the man who was at the very heart and centre of American policy-making, privy to every secret, and single-handedly responsible for the negotiations which brought America's role in Vietnam to an ambivalent end.

In this unique historical record, Henry Kissinger reveals what goes on behind the scenes at the highest levels in a diplomatic crisis.

The initial two essays, "Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy" and "Central Issues of American Foreign Policy," appeared in the original edition of this volume and have been retained as backdrops for fifteen major addresses delivered by Mr. Kissinger over the past four years. The new selections include a statement to Congress that traces the main lines of détente policy; a review of the step-by-step process of negotiations in the Middle East; an analysis of efforts to achieve accords, with the Soviet Union on strategic arms limitation without imperiling American national security; a speech to the United Nations on the imperative of establishing a balanced global approach to economic development and resource conservation; several papers that candidly appraise prospects for new ties between the United States and the nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America; and one that sets forth measures to strengthen the bonds among the industrial democracies. In their scope and detail, these documents constitute a remarkable set of designs, blueprints, and working drawings by a master architect of foreign policy.