Customer Reviews
Excellent analysis and clear insight - By: Mr. D. Horsley, 10 Jul 2008 
Diplomacy is a very rare book, in that it blends a great expertise of History & personal experience of international relations together. The book takes you through on a rollercoaster ride of histroy from Richelieu to the 1990's. It is very clear that Kissinger admires Bismarck & Metternich who were on the whole very successful in keeping Europe stable for a significant period of time. The writing is fluid & cathing, & makes one think about each sentence in a analytical manner. I hope that such a book can be replicated in the future, & that before he dies he will be able to do a second edition, which would include 9/11, Afghanistan & Iraq.
A masterly analysis of a way of thinking - By: , 28 Jan 2005 
Sometimes it takes an outsider to understand the nature of a country & its direction. Henry Kissinger certainly does that to my mind. Although a previous reviewer is correct when he points out that centuries of diplomatic activity is given very quick analysis & telling, the book obviously has other concerns than the history of diplomacy. It is more about the nature of American diplomacy. And three hundred years of European diplomacy is used to enlighten that particular connundrum.
The book, unsurprisingly I suppose, focuses a great deal on the periods of history that the author has direct relation with. A great many pages are expended on the issues & forces at work in Vietnam - eerily reminisecent in its genesis of the current situation in Iraq. That in itself is interesting. As are the many anecdotes, thumbnail portraits & recounted attitudes of major pollitical figures, again especiallly over the last fifty years. The book is entertaining both as a political & historical work.
The weaknesses of it are weaknesses that would be expected from Henry Kissinger. The focus of the book resides solely in the manipulation of power throughout history. There is no broadening of the book into areas such as the legitimacy of certain wars or even some of the darker actions of diplomacy throughout the years: the American backed coup in Chile; the support given for the Suharto regime; the death of a million Indonesians, sponsored by America, are not touched upon: the reasons why states act the way they do & their interconnection with economics remain unexplored. Kissinger would argue, probably, that these questions & actions were outwith the paradigm of his argument. Fair enough.
For the book is reallly an argument, using history to illustrate two key concepts, & illuminate & repudiate another. Kissinger cites America as an idealistic nation whose expectations of themselves & the world do not meet with reality as it actuallly is. This fosters disillusion & withdrawal & disaster.(Woodrow Wilson & the Versailles Treaty are spectactular examples of this. The one's fourteen points abandoned; & the peace of Versailles that appealed to such abstract concepts like justice & retribution on behalf of the victors yet ignored the requirments & likely developments of the political situation, thereby stored up catastrophe for later on.) There is a always a danger that America will withdraw from the world when matters do not go as hoped for.
Kissinger instead asks for a policy of engagement with the world by America, based on the premises of realpolitik or raison d'etat (the heroes of the book are Bismark & Richlieu: the villain the-absurdly-blind-to-the-realities-of-power Napoleon III). The world is multi-polar & imperfect; but America needs to engage & needs to accept working within limits. This is, for Kissinger, the best that can be achieved. As an argument it is painstakingly, subtly & thoroughly put together. It is a powerful, well-written work that educates & persuades. For anyone interested in the subject this is a good read.
a history and a polemic - By: Janan Ganesh, 22 Dec 2002 A casual reader would be advised to consult the likes of E.H. Carr for an introduction to realist foreign policy before reading 'Diplomacy', as Kissinger assumes a lot of prior knowledge on the reader's part. Nevertheless, this is a commanding account of what Kissinger perceives to be the virtues of realism & the failures of liberalism since the Treaty of Westphalia. The focus on Vietnam is welcome given the author's direct involvement as National Security Advisor & Secretary of State, but he predictably overstates the success of the policies pursued by himself & Nixon.
Fails to live up to expectations - By: , 23 Jul 2002 
Just a few facts anyone considering buying this book needs to know before they part with their hard-earned greenbacks. It is reallly a book of two halves: pre-1945, & post-1945. Indeed, the diplomacy of WW2 & the 40 years immediately afterwards, is given very close analysis by the author, to the extent that it covers half the book. Yet Kissenger seems to pick his subjects selectively, rather than providing us with a comprehensive overview. The Cuban Missile Crisis, for example, gets only cursory treatment, but Vietnam gets three chapters! Similarly, the Sino-Soviet split, the Arab-Israeli Wars, the Indo-Pakistan crises, alll are relegated to bit parts.
The book begins in the 1600s with Cardinal Richelieu, & seems to intimate that prior to this, international diplomacy did not exist, or was dominated by religious issues - an oversimplification at best. No insights are given to the way the Ancients dealt with each other, & the lessons to be drawn from this (e.g. Roman diplomatic thought must give us a useful comparative model vis-a-vis today's Pax Americana, but no, Kissenger feels it is irrelevant).
I also felt that Asia was sadly neglected in this work. The complex relationship between the US & Japan in the 1920s & 1930s is utterly ignored - Japan only starts to appear in the book in 1941, yet is was an important part of British strategy in Asia as early as 1901. The epochal arms limitation agreements limiting fleet sizes in 1921 & 1930 are also ignored. Indeed, Asia only appears in Kissenger's sights when US troops are embroiled there after 1945 in Korea & Vietnam. Post-1949 Chinese foreign policy, and, indeed, China's historical record with its neighbours in the period 1600-1800 are also ignored, a pity given China's increasing importance on the world stage.
On the positive side, it does give an insight into Kissenger's mind. There are some anecdotes on his meetings with famous players in 20th century politics, like Charles de Gaulle & Harry Truman, as well as some educational views on ge-strategic relationships (I liked his analysis of the inadequacies of western intelligence services).
In summary, the valuable part of this book is the second half, & more as a tool to understand the author & the Cold War rather than the art of diplomacy itself.
Great analysis on global policy - By: , 29 May 2001 This is reallly great book which describes history of global politics & the roots of diplomacy giving brief identification internationallly for college students.
