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Walter Isaacson

Kissinger: A Biography Hardcover – September 16, 1992

by Walter Isaacson (Author)

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A biography of the political figure, based on more than 150 interviews with Kissinger and others, chronicles his childhood in Nazi Germany, his rise in politics, his political relationships, and more. 75,000 first printing. Major ad/promo. First serial, Vanity Fair. Reader's Digest Cond Bks. Tour.

Print length

893 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Schuster
Publication date

September 16, 1992
Dimensions

6.5 x 2 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

0671663232
ISBN-13

978-0671663230
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The fullest account of Kissinger's life and career to date, other than for his memoirs, this massive biography provides plenty of ammunition for the former Secretary of State's supporters and detractors. Growing up in Nazi Germany as an Orthodox Jew, Kissinger faced beatings and virulent anti-Semitism, and in Isaacson's view these burdened him with lifelong feelings of insecurity and distrust, as well as a yearning for stability and order. Isaacson, assistant managing editor of Time , sees Kissinger as the foremost American negotiator of this century, but one whose furtive, conspiratorial, at times deceitful personality shaped his conservative realpolitik and diplomatic maneuvering. He maintains that Kissinger's foreign policy, rooted in stealth and surprise, mirrored and reinforced the darker side of his increasingly jealous patron, President Nixon, and goes on to reveal how Chief of Staff Alexander Haig undercut his rival. He also pierces the secretive world of Kissinger's lucrative, globetrotting post-White House career as a business consultant. A spooky, engrossing portrait of the only European-style realist ever to guide U.S. foreign policy. Photos. First serial to Vanity Fair; BOMC main selection; QPB and History Book Club alternates; Reader's Digest Condensed Book selection; author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Isaacson, assistant managing editor of Time , has produced much more than another unauthorized biography, giving extensive insights into the younger years of Heinz Kissinger in Bavaria and how they shaped his character, his style in dealing with others, and his worldview. Over 150 interviews with Kissinger intimates, enemies, subordinates, and the man himself generate a less-than-flattering portrayal of the man behind the intellect and the myths. Isaacson covers Kissinger's Americanization, his use of Harvard ties to enhance his career, his forays into the stratosphere of the Council on Foreign Relations (NY), and his Washington years and exploits. He also examines Kissinger's ill-fated negotiations with the North Vietnamese, empire building as national security assistant, shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, arms control efforts, and later years as private citizen and consultant. While there are other excellent Kissinger biographies (Stephen Graubard's Kissinger , LJ 6/1/73; John Stoessinger's Henry Kissinger: The Anguish of Power , LJ 9/15/76; Bruce Mazlich's Kissinger: The European Mind in American Policy , LJ 9/15/76), this work is the best to date on Henry K. Superstar. Essential for general libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/92.
- Frank Kessler, Missouri Western State Coll., St. Joseph
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A critical but resolutely objective and utterly fascinating biography of the guileful, egocentric geopolitical scientist who became America's most celebrated secretary of state. Drawing on access to his subject's private papers, family members, friends, and foes, as well as on archival sources, Isaacson (an assistant managing editor at Time; coauthor, The Wise Men, 1986) offers an authoritative and comprehensive account. Tracking Kissinger from his boyhood as a persecuted Jew in Nazi Germany through his current estate as a globe-trotting business consultant who turns 70 next May, the author notes that Kissinger has displayed a knack for attracting influential patrons throughout his career. This talent served Kissinger well as an Army intelligence operative during WW II, at Harvard (where he earned a Ph.D. and professorship), and as a cold-war strategist who made a name for himself advising think tanks and government agencies. Latching on to an ultimate sponsor, he joined the Nixon Administration in 1969; survived Watergate largely unscathed; gained worldwide fame (plus a Nobel Peace Prize) for negotiating an end to the Vietnam War; and won even greater renown for feats of shuttle diplomacy in Africa, the Mideast, and elsewhere. While Isaacson gives Kissinger full marks for his many accomplishments in foreign policy, he minces few words in recounting the secretiveness, devotion to Realpolitik, and personal insecurities that gained Kissinger a reputation for Dr. Strangelove-like duplicity. Although Kissinger consistently had the courage of his conviction--that those engaged in statecraft must deal with ambiguities and accommodations--Isaacson concludes that a general perception of Kissinger's ruthlessness frequently cost him dearly owing to Americans' allegiance to human rights, democratic principles, the rule of international law, and other idealistic values. An evenhanded, warts-and-all portrait of a larger-than-life individual who has left his mark behind. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs--not seen.) (Book-of-the-Month Dual Selection for October) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; 1st edition (September 16, 1992)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 893 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0671663232
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0671663230
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.85 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 2 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #252,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #561 in United States National Government
- #1,635 in Political Leader Biographies

Customer Reviews:
225 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		69%
4 star		19%
3 star		9%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Peter F Raleigh

Really well Researched and Written, but a little biased

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2019

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I have read several of Isaacson's books and am a huge admirer. With Kissinger, it is a really fantastic story. Well written and well researched, it was an enjoyable read. What I didn't like was that it seemed a bit critical of Kissinger as a person, statesman, and all around. Kissinger was able to navigate some of the great foreign policy achievements of the 20th century, and largely in the shadow of Nixon's domestic issues with Watergate. I really enjoyed the book, I just felt like there were some editorial shots against Kissinger that weren't warranted and didn't add to the book.

9 people found this helpful

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Delta D.

Comprehensive, balanced and readable, but excessive micro-detail on turf wars

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2019

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The author makes clear at the outset the difficulties faced by a biographer of such a polarising character. This biography is comprehensive, balanced and decidedly readable.

Kissinger's staggering intellect and powerful charm/ability to manipulate - (take your pick) - are made very clear. His great triumphs - especially the Middle East - and dire misjudgments - especially Vietnam - are laid out objectively, with the author's opinions clearly separated from the facts.

Equally clear are Kissinger's character flaws - ego, volcanic temper and obsession with grabbing both turf and credit.

My only complaint is that the narrative is much less interesting when the author gets into the micro-detail of how x was excluded from a flight on a plane, y was given a less prestigious hotel room location and z was kept out of the loop on a certain topic etc. That Kissinger was just as keen to use his manipulative abilities to advance his personal turf wars as to serve (in his own opinion) the credibility (a word which crops up frequently in the book) of the USA is spelt out clearly. The minutiae of how he did this slows down the narrative.

5 people found this helpful

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SETX

A Long Read

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2020

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The book was interesting, but wouldnt have been so burdensome if it was 20% shorter. I had to force myself to finish.

I have an above average vocabulary, and was put off by the author using unusual words to convey what simple words could. Having to look up the definition disrupted the story - and now that I know the words, I will never use them! ( Its about efficient communication.)

The author did a good job with his research. I liked the book and think Kissinger was treated fairly, but he didnt do the same for President Nixon.

Nixon was not a helpless buffoon. He was an accomplished man who rose to heights the average man can only aspire - the most powerful man on earth.

2 people found this helpful

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Bill H Greene

You may not be able to put this book down once you start it

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2021

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This is a long and detailed book and I found it very hard to put down, it was that interesting. The writing is easy to understand and follow. While the author clearly has opinions and analysis, these are, I think, done in an even handed manner and not in a vindictive way. It is a fascinating book about a fascinating man and life

One person found this helpful

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Henry Kissinger--A Fair Biography

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2007

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Walter Isaacson, who has written esteemed biographies of Benjamin Franklin, The Wise Men, and Einstein, tackles the complex character of Henry Kissinger, academic, diplomat, and consultant. Kissinger is a difficult character to pin down, as Isaacson notes. He was devious, self-promoting, self-deprecating, intelligent, ambitious, and successful. The author interviewed over 150 people--including Kissinger himself--to gather information for this lengthy volume (767 pages of text).

At the outset, Isaacson says (page 9): "Three decades after he left office, Henry Kissinger continues to exert a fascinating hold on the public imagination as well as intellectual sway over the nation's foreign policy conversation." He was a well-known apostle of "Realpolitik," emphasizing doing what had to be done to advance the national interest, balancing power with power, concerned more with accomplishing things than getting caught up in ideology and morality. Again, a realist as opposed to an idealist. And this is the tension that is described throughout the course of this powerful volume (page 15): ". . .Kissinger had an instinctive feel. . .for power and for creating a new global balance that could help America cope with its withdrawal syndrome after Vietnam. But it was not matched by a similar feel for the strength to be derived from the openness of America's democratic system or for the moral values that are the true source of its global influence."

The book begins with a brief early biography of Kissinger, including the misery he experienced after the Nazis came to power and the departure of his immediate family from Germany when they came to understand how inhospitable that country was becoming for Jews. The book also notes that many of his relatives died during World War II, part of the Holocaust. There follows the tale of his adolescence, his military service, his graduate study, and his promising academic career.

But the major portion of this book focuses on his role as National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State under Richard Nixon's presidency and Secretary of State under Gerald Ford. There is a relatively brief discussion in several chapters of his life after Nixon-Ford, as consultant, commentator, intellectual-without-portfolio.

After having worked with Nelson Rockefeller as an advisor, it is somewhat surprising that he ended up serving one of Rocky's antagonists, Richard Nixon. The book traces the odd relationship between Nixon and Kissinger. Sometimes hard-edged and combative, sometimes oddly supportive of one another. The secretive Nixon and Kissinger as lone cowboy accomplished a great deal in foreign policy; however, their penchant for secrecy also created problems of its own. Kissinger could be viewed is devious (for telling different people things in such a way as for each to think that Kissinger was on his/her side), but he also earned the trust of many leaders as he invented "shuttle diplomacy." Leaders might become exasperated with his style and his deviousness, but he was effective in a number of key instances. Examples worth exploring and reflecting upon in the book include the negotiations with North Vietnam to extricate the United States from a quagmire of its own making; the effort to end the Yom Kippur War in a manner that would stabilize the Middle East; the opening to China; détente with the Soviet Union.

This is a biography that is worth investing time and energy into. It portrays Kissinger, warts and all, in a manner that illuminates this complicated individual. On some pages, one will think of railing against him; on other pages, one may well feel admiration for his strengths and accomplishments.

28 people found this helpful

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William Lemmey

This is a good survey of Kissinger's life

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2015

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This is a good survey of Kissinger's life. It is well documented and balanced in its presentation. Kissinger was a brilliant negotiator and foreign policy analyst; however, there is a major flaw in his life. How could a man who talked about being a victim of the holocaust be so insensitive to human suffering? His failure to prevent the bombing and eventual disaster in Cambodia is not addressed enough. Kissinger's lack of empathy and action in the slaughters in Bangladesh and Timor raise many doubts about his sincerity on human suffering. I feel pithy for this man. His brilliance never allowed for human consequences . Isaacson notes that Kissinger needed to be 10% less brilliant and 10% more honest. I think that he needed compassion for human suffering.

7 people found this helpful

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Dolly dee

I find him to be a good writer. Being an admirer of Kissinger and having ...

Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2015

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Having read several books by Walter Isaacson, I find him to be a good writer. Being an admirer of Kissinger and having a love of history, I expected this to be a perfect book for me. After reading about a fourth of it, I find that it is certainly well-researched but also a slow and difficult read. It is not a book one would read for pleasure but more for the serious history or biography buff.

10 people found this helpful

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Tipu Sultan

Supremely excellent!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 26, 2018

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A supremely excellent book, gives a unique insight into the great man's life and times.

h c

This is great. I was interested in this book primarily because ...

Reviewed in India on December 20, 2017

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This is great.I was interested in this book primarily because Kissinger is seen in the Indian Subcontinent as a villain who was indirectly responsible for the genocide in Bangladesh. Kissinger tried his best to prevent the victory of India in 1971 war with Pakistan and his vile diplomacy will go down as a terrible chapter in modern American history.Kissinger tried to prevent the disintegration of Pakistan, which was already a failed state by 1970.He wanted to become a modern Machiavelli but he ended up as a cohort of Mao tse tung. Kissinger will go down in history with the ignominy of defeat and an insulting end , with dollops of glamour and media glare.
Kissinger primarily suffered from the memories of his childhood and never recovered from the insecurity he faced in German occupation.He never helped the state of Israel even though he is a Jew.He remains one of the most controversial diplomats of the twentieth century who ultimately failed to do justice to the trust reposed upon him by America.

8 people found this helpful

conjunction

Twentieth Century Metternich

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 16, 2011

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Like many reviewers (on Amazon.com), I enjoyed this book very much.

Unlike Kissinger's memoirs, it covers his whole life, though most of the focus is on his years in power with Nixon.

The chapters on the early life are well written and evocative. Kissinger's parents were strong and courageous, living as respected citizens in a part of Germany with many Jewish people. As Kissinger grew up his family watched all their rights being taken away and at the last minute (in 1938) left for the USA.

Kissinger's regard for the values of the USA is in contrast to the suffering of his family in Germany, but according to Isaacson bitterness was not a part of his life.

To me one of the most interesting parts of the book is the picture of Nixon. Nixon and Kissinger were a match for each other. Each was emotional, given to tantrums, though in different styles, and each played their colleagues like a Wurlitzer.

Kissinger was brilliant and devious and famously capable of steaming into any situation and maintaining his concentration on half a dozen different aspects of a crisis simultaneously. Nixon largely gave him his head but quite unlike President Ford later, called the shots when it mattered to him to do so.

Interestingly, in some ways, at least in comparison to the Republican leaders who came after him, Nixon comes over like a liberal. He is of course associated with the Vietnam War, but when Nixon came to power there were nearly 600,000 US troops in Vietnam. He immediately began regular withdrawals, and at no point during his presidency were these regular troop reductions halted for more than a brief period. According to Isaacson, the aggressive moves made by the US after 1968 were to protect `American credibility' and their bargaining position at the peace table.

Given the situation they were in, and depending on what your view of what constitutes credibility is, they probably did a fair job. Kissinger is of course blamed for the invasion of Cambodia, but the way Isaacson tells it, it was the US invasion of Vietnam in the first place, and the subsequent use of Cambodia as a base by the Viet Cong which really led to the development of the Khmer Rouge, rather than the much later US bombing and invasion of Cambodia.

Isaacson's own views are clear and not clear. He frequently rebukes Kissinger for what he presumably sees as non-liberal actions, eg the conspiracy against Allende and the supplying of arms to the Indonesians to suppress the rebels in East Timor, but then lets him off the hook, by for instance pointing out that Allende was no democrat and an economic disaster.

Isaacson's viewpoint, like Kissinger's, appears to be that if it's American it's great, and anything Soviet, or anything which could be construed as pro-Soviet, is the enemy. Remember this book was written in 1992). It is this viewpoint, however `liberal', which let in the fundamentalists we are all suffering with today, I mean the `Let the market rule' and democracy or death guys.

The biggest lesson of this book for me though is the utter contrast between the world of the sixties and seventies and what came after. The closing chapters of the book are the least interesting, you feel Isaacson has to push himself to sustain the narrative in a period where the values are all different and Kissinger himself struggles to obtain any leverage.

Despite its limitations, a great read, and incidentally, frequently hilarious.

6 people found this helpful

Christian

Naja

Reviewed in Germany on May 18, 2014

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Vielleicht liegt es an den Übersetzer, aber ich finde es etwas zäh. Sehr konzentriertes Lesen ist notwendig im Gegensatz zu seinem Werk über Steven Jobs.
Ich lese zur Zeit Einstein nebenbei im Original und finde es trotz AE leichter zu lesen.
Fazit: Buch wahrscheinlich i.O., Übersetzung eher misslungen, hier wurde eine bessere Übersetzung vielleicht dem Werke gut tun.

One person found this helpful

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Chris Maes

Very good read

Reviewed in France on January 19, 2016

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Very good read indeed, especially perhaps for someone who was a young adult like me when Dr. Kissinger and his shuttle diplomacy was on every news show on the planet.
Interesting and credible character descriptions of the characters involved: Kissinger of course, but also Nixon, Ford, Haldeman, and all the other players involved in Watergate, Vietnam, Cold War, and the thawing of relations with China as a counter balance to Soviet antagonism.
US-Iraeli relations are also discussed at length in the broader setting of perceived US interest in the Middle East.
Funny to get the hindsight of good policy decisions for the wrong reasons.
How brilliant minds get influenced by twisted personality and personal ambition and paranoia.