On China
For more than twenty years after the Communist Revolution in 1949, China and most of the western world had no diplomats in each others’ capitals and no direct way to communicate. Then, in July 1971, Henry Kissinger arrived secretly in Beijing on a mission which quickly led to the reopening of relations between China and the West and changed the course of post-war history. For the past forty years, Kissinger has maintained close relations with successive generations of Chinese leaders, and has probably been more intimately connected with China at the highest level than any other western figure. This book distils his experience and long study of the ‘Middle Kingdom’, examining China’s history from the classical era to the present day, and explaining why it has taken the extraordinary course that it has.
2.7 out of 5 based on 11 reviews
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Omniscore:
|
| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
History, Society, Politics & Philosophy |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
608 |
| RRP |
£30.00 |
| Date of Publication |
May 2011 |
| ISBN |
978-1846143465 |
| Publisher |
Allen Lane |
| |
For more than twenty years after the Communist Revolution in 1949, China and most of the western world had no diplomats in each others’ capitals and no direct way to communicate. Then, in July 1971, Henry Kissinger arrived secretly in Beijing on a mission which quickly led to the reopening of relations between China and the West and changed the course of post-war history. For the past forty years, Kissinger has maintained close relations with successive generations of Chinese leaders, and has probably been more intimately connected with China at the highest level than any other western figure. This book distils his experience and long study of the ‘Middle Kingdom’, examining China’s history from the classical era to the present day, and explaining why it has taken the extraordinary course that it has.
Reviews
The Los Angeles Times
Linda Matthews
“Incisive ... Lovers of diplomatic history may delight, as Kissinger obviously does, in his review of the misconceptions, mistakes and missed opportunities that plagued China's relations with the United States before Nixon's trip … Ordinary readers, however, may be more drawn to Kissinger's entertaining and sometimes gossipy accounts of his meetings with China's most august leaders.”
29/05/2011
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The Observer
Rana Mitter
“… an unusual and valuable book … Henry Kissinger will always remain a controversial historical figure. But this elegantly written and erudite book reminds us that on one of the biggest questions of the post-second world war world his judgment was right, and showed a long-term vision that few politicians of any country could match today.”
15/05/2011
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The Daily Telegraph
George Walden
“His book will satisfy neither America’s sinophobes nor its panda-huggers (as sentimentalists about China are called), but its reflections on strategy make a lot more sense than Mao ever did.”
20/05/2011
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The Times
Jack Straw
“What I was desperate for was his discussion of the various forces that led to [Tiananmen Square] ... Its absence is a serious omission. In contrast, Kissinger’s story about the Cultural Revolution is full and balanced ... [His] reprise of [the Nixon/China story] is as illuminating as one would expect ... [it] had me in fits of laughter, something I had not expected from so serious a tome.”
21/05/2011
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The New York Review of Books
Jonathan D Spence
“Some of the most absorbing pages of Kissinger’s book deal with the uses of diplomacy shortly after the Tiananmen crackdown, and the differences in response that were in play. He discusses how President George HW Bush sent a personal letter to Deng on June 21, 1989, in which he spelled out the issues concerning sanctions and other steps as he saw them, while at the same time he referred to Deng as a “friend,” despite what had so recently occurred.”
09/06/2011
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The New York Times
Michiko Kakutani
“[A] fascinating, shrewd and sometimes perverse book ... [it] promotes Mr Kissinger’s own brand of realpolitik thinking, and that in doing so often soft-pedals the human costs of Mao’s ruthless decades-long reign and questions the consequences of more recent American efforts to press human-rights issues with the Chinese.”
08/05/2011
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The New York Times
Max Frankel
“Only in its last pages does he discuss the essential question of future Sino-American relations: With no common enemy to bind them, what will keep the peace and promote collaboration and trust between the world’s major powers? … while he does not quite say so, he invests his hopes in a concert of nations represented, of course, by multiple Kissingers.”
13/05/2011
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The Financial Times
Chris Patten
“My main criticism of Kissinger is not that his commitment to partnership with China is too strong, or his praise for China’s achievements too effusive. But I wonder whether the tone of his diplomacy is good for China and the rest of us, and whether the way he writes about China betrays a wholly unnecessary tendency, if not to kowtow, then at least to engage in a pre-emptive deferential bob.”
27/05/2011
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The New Statesman
Douglas Hurd
“So keen is he to underline the logic and subtlety of Mao, Zhou Enlai and then Deng Xiaoping that he leaves out the effect of unforeseen events and Chinese miscalculation. Also lacking is any sense of indignation.”
26/05/2011
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The Economist
The Economist
“Unabashedly Orientalist … the picture of Chinese foreign policy, as formulated by cool, calculating, master strategists playing wei qi, makes it appear more coherent, consistent and effective than it has been.”
19/05/2011
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The Guardian
Jasper Becker
“Henry Kissinger in China was always a gratingly and irritatingly smug presence, but Henry Kissinger "on China" is madly baffling. After nearly 600 pages, Kissinger fails to address the key question: why and how did President Richard Nixon decide that it was in America's interests to protect communist China?”
21/05/2011
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