The chancellors summer read is niall ferguson s 1,000page kissinger, part one of the longawaited biography of the former us secretary of state. What these passages admittedly do is to remind us that kissingers life is not a valuefree zone. The voguish explanation for the western slowdown is deleveraging. The idealist, 19231968, is the first volume of henry kissinger s biography, written by niall ferguson.
Niall ferguson has 54 books on goodreads with 158112 ratings. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read kissinger. The west and the rest, bestselling author niall ferguson argues that, beginning in the fifteenth century, the west developed six powerful new concepts that the rest lacked. Hailed by some as the indispensable man whose advice has been soug. Indeed it could be said that kissinger comes alive through this epic biography. Producing work as both a historian and a biographer, he has also published a number of biographies on figures such as henry kissinger and siegmund warburg. Review by niall ferguson i am a square, richard nixon told a journalist towards the end of his life, drawing a square in the air with his forefinger. Niall fergusons struggles with kissingers life the. While ferguson doesnt explicitly refer to the streetlight effect in his new book, the square and the tower.
Ferguson s superb, thoughtprovoking book brings these events vividly to life and will help readers view history from a unique perspective. An important book and an unsparing portrait of kissinger s legacy. The idealist by niall ferguson, read by roy mcmillan. Certainly, there are few precedents for the scale of debt. By engaging in such unabashed cheerleading, fergusons book. He spent his early adolescence under the third reich. The biography begins in furth, germany, kissinger s place of birth, and describes the vibrant jewish community. But if the second volume of kissinger is anywhere near as comprehensive, well written and riveting.
See all books authored by niall ferguson, including the ascent of money. Throughout this long endeavor, i believe i have been true to my resolve to write the life of henry kissinger as it actually waswie es eigentlich gewesen, in rankes famous phrase which is perhaps better translated as it essentially was. Tisch professor of history at harvard university and current senior fellow at the center for european studies at harvard university, a visiting. Ferguson discusses his new biography of henry kissinger, and sloane crosley talks about her first novel, the clasp. In this remarkable new book, the first of two volumes, niall ferguson has created an extraordinary panorama of kissingers world, and a. Acting in the role of the prosecution, hitchens presents kissinger s involvement in a series of alleged war crimes in vietnam, bangladesh. Ferguson relies heavily throughout on not particularly interesting block quotes, on to which. Tisch professor of history at harvard university and current senior fellow at the center for european studies at harvard university, a visiting professor at tsinghua university, beijing, and founder and managing director of advisory firm greenmantle llc. Like his classic twovolume history of the house of rothschild, kissinger. In his pronouncements on the war in vietnam, ferguson insists kissinger was an idealist first and foremost. Niall fergusons grotesque but telling new biography. A strange new phenomenon seems to have struck him and his media chums. Books by niall ferguson author of the ascent of money. No american statesman has been as revered or as reviled as henry kissinge.
Previously, he was a professor at harvard university and new york university, visiting professor at new college of the humanities and senior research fellow at jesus college, oxford ferguson writes and lectures on international history. Niall ferguson is a senior fellow at the hoover institution at stanford university, former laurence a. Bit by bit, kissinger was becoming a foreign policy expert with few rivals. From the bestselling author of the ascent of money and the square and the tower, the definitive biography of henry kissinger, based on. The idealist niall ferguson new york, ny, allen lane. The film based on his interviews with kissinger won the 2011 new york film festival prize for best documentary. Niall ferguson has written what i feel must become a classic for all those in search of the essence of a great statesman whose works, policies and actions have affected all our lives. Secretary of state when an accomplished historian writes about one of the worlds great diplomats, the results. Drawing not only on kissinger s hitherto closed private papers but also on documents from more than a hundred archives around the world, this biography is niall ferguson s masterpiece. He is the author of paper and iron, the house of rothschild, the pity of war, the cash nexus, empire, colossus, the war of the world, the ascent of money, high financier, civilization, the great degeneration, kissinger, 1923 1968. In his charmless biography of henry kissinger, niall ferguson fails to make a. He is also a senior research fellow at jesus college, oxford university, and a senior fellow at the hoover institution, stanford.
For big, bold and compelling, it is impossible to ignore kissinger 1923 1968. Niall ferguson is a professor of history at harvard university. George osborne is going to be carrying some hefty luggage on his hols. Niall fergusons dishonest biography of henry kissinger. Niall ferguson already has many important, scholarly and controversial books to his credit. But any flaws in the book, he insists, were not kissingers but reflect the. Yet as niall ferguson shows in this magisterial twovolume biography, drawing not only on kissingers hitherto closed private papers. He is also a senior fellow at the hoover institution, stanford university, and a senior research fellow at jesus college, oxford. Winner of the council on foreign relations arthur ross book award.
Kissinger by niall ferguson, 97807998702, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. The trial of henry kissinger is a 2001 book by christopher hitchens examining the alleged war crimes of henry kissinger, the national security advisor and later united states secretary of state for presidents richard nixon and gerald ford. A financial history of the world, and civilization. Working as a weekly columnist in sunday times in london, niall ferguson has become a highly prolific author and voice among his many peers and contemporaries. The times, the economist, bbc history magazine and financial times books of the year 2015.
Minneapolis startribune greg grandins brilliant account of kissinger strips kissinger s vaunted realism to the bone, revealing a skeleton of romantic american exceptionalism and a loving embrace of the will to power for powers sake. But if the second volume of kissinger is anywhere near as comprehensive, well written and riveting as the first, this will be his masterpiece. Always thorough, often surprising, at times deeply moving, this is an extraordinary biography of the most significant scholarstatesmanstrategist of. Some regard him as the countrys greatest strategic foreign relations thinker, while others describe him as. He is currently working on a life of henry kissinger. As a software engineer steeped in the theory and practice of networks, i was deeply impressed by this book s insights. An excerpt from niall fergusons the great degeneration. The idealist shifts the trajectory of kissinger studies fundamentally. A weekly columnist for newsweek and a contributing editor for bloomberg tv, niall ferguson divides his time between the united states and the united kingdom. This book has been just over ten years in the making.
Adam nadel the book illustrates just what an extraordinary human being kissinger is. The idealist, 19231968, in an event hosted by the jackson school of international studies, uw bookstore. But if the second volume of kissinger is anywhere near as. Niall ferguson is one of the worlds most renowned historians. Yet as niall ferguson shows in this magisterial twovolume biography, drawing not only on kissinger s hitherto closed private papers but also on documents from more than a hundred archives around the world, the idea of kissinger as the ruthless archrealist is based on a profound misunderstanding. Bookpage niall ferguson s the square and the tower brilliantly illuminates the great power struggle between networks and hierarchies that is raging around the world today. Niall ferguson s the square and the tower brilliantly illuminates the great power struggle between networks and hierarchies that is raging around the world today. Niall ferguson s most popular book is the ascent of money. No american statesman has been as revered and as reviled as henry kissinger. Niall ferguson the ascent of money audiobook youtube. Niall fergusons protestations aside, henry kissinger was the. I d made it 375 pages into niall ferguson s newish first volume of a planned twovolume life of henry kissinger before receiving in the.
The idealist, the first of his projected twovolumes on henry kissinger, ferguson delves into the statesmans early life. These were the killer applications that allowed the west to leap. Henry kissinger is one of the most controversial statesmen in american history. Farrell a political portrait looks back on the life of one of the most controversial presidents in modern american history. Always thorough, often surprising, at times deeply moving, this is an extraordinary biography of the most significant scholarstatesmanstrategist of our time, by one of our most accomplished historians. That very name, niall ferguson writes in the first volume of his.
Niall ferguson audio books, best sellers, author bio. Penguin presents the audiobook edition of kissinger. To hear the likes of niall ferguson, he is part of an endangered species. Niall ferguson books list of books by author niall ferguson.
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