
The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made
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Six close friends shaped the role their country would play in the dangerous years following World War II. They were the original best and brightest, whose towering intellects, outsize personalities, and dramatic actions would bring order to the postwar chaos, and whose strong response to Soviet expansionism would leave a legacy that dominates American policy to this day.
In April 1945, they converged to advise an untutored new president, Harry Truman. They were Averell Harriman, the freewheeling diplomat and Roosevelt’s special envoy to Churchill and Stalin; Dean Acheson, the secretary of state who was more responsible for the Truman Doctrine than Truman and for the Marshall Plan than General Marshall; George Kennan, self-cast outsider and intellectual darling of the Washington elite; Robert Lovett, assistant secretary of war, undersecretary of state, and secretary of defense throughout the formative years of the Cold War; John McCloy, one of the nation’s most influential private citizens; and Charles Bohlen, adroit diplomat and ambassador to the Soviet Union.
Together they formulated a doctrine of Communist containment that was to be the foundation of American policy, and years later, when much of what they stood for appeared to be sinking in the mire of Vietnam, they were summoned for their steady counsel. It was then that they were dubbed “the Wise Men.” Working in an atmosphere of trust that in today’s Washington would seem quaint, they shaped a new world order that committed a once-reticent nation to defending freedom wherever it sought to flourish.
- Listening Length33 hours and 27 minutes
- Audible release dateJanuary 29, 2013
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB00B78OGK4
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
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Product details
Listening Length | 33 hours and 27 minutes |
---|---|
Author | Evan Thomas, Walter Isaacson |
Narrator | Jonathan Reese |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com Release Date | January 29, 2013 |
Publisher | Random House Audio |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B00B78OGK4 |
Best Sellers Rank | #21,180 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #117 in Military Strategy History (Books) #140 in Historical Biographies (Audible Books & Originals) #182 in Biographies of Politicians |
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I took away one star because the authors largely see the foreign policies of Republican presidents Ike, Nixon and Reagan through the eyes of the Wise Men, instead of objectively. Only when Nixon "comes to his senses" and asks Acheson and Harriman for advice does he receive some praise. Ike's foreign policy era is portrayed as one to be endured until the Wise Men are allowed back in the inner circle under JFK. Their total disdain for Reagan is clear; no mention of the reasons for end of the Cold War and Reagan's active part in it.
However, the 5-star section of the book is clearly the LBJ-Vietnam era. Wow, they really can't stand LBJ as a human being and politician, but his (and the Wise Men's) agony over the Vietnam war is written about almost lyrically. The authors convey the complicated global factors of the war in an admirable, even-handed, almost sympathetic way.
The six men, Averell Harriman, Dean Acheson, George Kennan, Robert Lovett, John McCloy and Charles Bohlen are hardly household names, even to individuals who think of themselves as knowledgable about American history, but their contributions to American greatness and America's status as a World Power is undeniable and as a nation we should be thankful for their unselfish duty to country... even if at times their philosophy and policies lead us down the wrong path.
A must read. Highly recommend.
Our politicians are shallow,opportunists ,who for the most part have no moral compass and listen to the rabble and hatred of the mob..
This book should be required reading for our college students..then perhaps they will see the light,educate themselves and carry forth the goodness that America once promised and mostly delivered
Top reviews from other countries

The early chapters are not particularly interesting, except from the fact that they provide a vivid and surprising insight into the world of the east-coast aristocracy (1st half 20C), which is probably necessary for a full appreciation of what follows.
Apart from the less informative later chapters, the only other grievance that I can cite is the fact one does get the impression that the authors have been a little less critical of their subjects (and JFK) than is reasonable. It is also perhaps too harsh on LBJ.



