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shu_long's review against another edition
5.0
I’m giving this book 5 stars because of its uniqueness and the value of its personal interpretation of events, the many direct quotes and examples given, and the the author’s obvious importance in the last 40 years of world history. That is not to say this is a perfect book. It’s is peculiar to itself and worth the read.
As someone who has studied and lived in China, though after the periods referred to in the book for the most part, I find many of his explanations and analysis to be worthy of serious consideration and based on historical fact with consideration of the ancient and modern Chinese consciousness. Do I agree with everything? No. This book would have been too tame and timid if every statement expressed in its pages were wholly supported by all readers.
I anticipate, from a quick scan of other reviews, that some will find the author rather laudatory towards several of the Chinese leaders mentioned. He does show respect, something the American republic is often hesitant to do towards any foreign leader or even our own; however, you will find he writes with similar respect towards American leaders of similar time periods and it is impossible to write clear facts in some cases, without it being assumed that credit is being given.
The author has a very well realized concept of the stumbling blocks, cultural tripping points and shear weight of history that face any combination of leaders from China and the U.S. as they try to step forward into the future. In many cases, it seems that he is refraining from judgement or attempting to put forth facts that the general public with its media pipeline of information, may not have considered. One must read this book for its value as a statement of viewpoint and personally experienced event, understood from one man’s perspective. It is useful, in and of itself; all accounts of history have a perspective unique to the telling and the study of what it perceived or advertised is nearly as important as the event themselves. Consider Ramesses II and his carving commemorating the defeat of the Hittites at Kadesh.
As someone who has studied and lived in China, though after the periods referred to in the book for the most part, I find many of his explanations and analysis to be worthy of serious consideration and based on historical fact with consideration of the ancient and modern Chinese consciousness. Do I agree with everything? No. This book would have been too tame and timid if every statement expressed in its pages were wholly supported by all readers.
I anticipate, from a quick scan of other reviews, that some will find the author rather laudatory towards several of the Chinese leaders mentioned. He does show respect, something the American republic is often hesitant to do towards any foreign leader or even our own; however, you will find he writes with similar respect towards American leaders of similar time periods and it is impossible to write clear facts in some cases, without it being assumed that credit is being given.
The author has a very well realized concept of the stumbling blocks, cultural tripping points and shear weight of history that face any combination of leaders from China and the U.S. as they try to step forward into the future. In many cases, it seems that he is refraining from judgement or attempting to put forth facts that the general public with its media pipeline of information, may not have considered. One must read this book for its value as a statement of viewpoint and personally experienced event, understood from one man’s perspective. It is useful, in and of itself; all accounts of history have a perspective unique to the telling and the study of what it perceived or advertised is nearly as important as the event themselves. Consider Ramesses II and his carving commemorating the defeat of the Hittites at Kadesh.
lunabear33's review against another edition
4.0
Kissinger is one of my favourite authors when it comes to political and diplomatic history, this is a must-read for anyone interested in China
bucketoffish's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great geopolitical history of modern China, written by someone who played a major role in shaping relations between China and the United States. The amount of behind-the-scenes detail provided, including secret communications between leaders of the two countries, was extremely fascinating and provided a peak into what really happens in high-level diplomatic discussions between heads of state. It was especially interesting to me to see how leaders in both China and the US would say one thing to appease their publics, while saying something completely different in secret. It made me realize that national interests trump ideology in real geopolitical dealings, to the point where the latter is essentially just there for public consumption.
benrogerswpg's review against another edition
2.0
It was okay. A little underwhelming.
I found it interesting how cavalier he was about some human rights issues.
Kind of shocking at times!
I want to note how Kissinger's future predictions were very accurate and spot on, now that we're in that pictured future.
2.6/5
I found it interesting how cavalier he was about some human rights issues.
Kind of shocking at times!
I want to note how Kissinger's future predictions were very accurate and spot on, now that we're in that pictured future.
2.6/5
provaprova's review against another edition
4.0
Kissinger may be a duplicitous murderous bastard, but he's an excellent analyst and while his ancient history is only so-so as far as I can tell from my other reading (eg. Needham), his takes on modern Chinese history is very interesting, and I learned a number of things I did not know before (I was shocked to learn that the Soviets at one point seriously considered pre-emptively attacking China's nuclear program and had reached out to the USA to ask whether the USA would be very upset about it?).
elusivity's review against another edition
3.0
Took me forever to finish this, but still reduced to skimming toward the end. This is a dry, dry recounting of events, even though Mr. Kissinger was eyewitness and part of the main actors to momentous history...