Forty glittering, insightful essays, speeches, and reviews on the
tumultuous 20th century, from nonagenarian Kennan, the dean of
diplomatic historians (Around the Cragged Hill, 1993; Sketches from
a Life, 1989). Throughout his career as both historian and
diplomat, Kennan has kept a penetrating, skeptical eye on
totalitarian regimes, notions of national self-determination, and
moral crusades by both right-wingers and liberals. This volume's
essays - which deal with the dislocations caused by two world wars,
the Cold War, and Russia and Eastern Europe in the post-Cold War
era - could have used a tougher editorial hand to select both fewer
and less overlapping essays. Still, they display Kennan's
considerable gifts as stylist and analyst, as well as some
limitations of his perspective. Kennan's ability to connect tsarist
and Communist legacies to current events is magisterial, and his
writing is supple, by turns analytic, ironic, lyrical, and eloquent
("one should be aware of all the collective hysterias of modern
nationalism - the artificially fanned hatreds, the chauvinistic
self-idealization, the professions of noble principle"). On the
other hand, Kennan's record as prognosticator is mixed: While
correctly predicting the USSR's internal collapse and renewed
ethnic unrest and violence in the Balkans, he also underestimated
the chances of success for the START talks - and, in light of the
recent Russian parliamentary elections, his dismissal of a
government headed by ex-Communists or ultranationalists looks
premature. Moreover, his complaint about conducting foreign affairs
under the microscope of election-obsessed pols ignores a more dire
alterative: a foreign-policy misadventure by a dictatorial regime
shielded from public opinion. Imagine a 20th-century Henry Adams
and you might get the sense of Kennan here: elegant, subtle,
elitist, and horrified by the ideological convulsions that have
engulfed his world. (Kirkus Reviews)
Reflections 19821995
"Forty glittering, insightful essays . . . [from] the dean of diplomatic historians."--Kirkus Reviews
As participant and observer, George F. Kennan has left an indelible mark on more than six decades of this century. In this new volume of essays, reviews, and speeches, Kennan reflects on the forces that have shaped this tragic century.
"There are few American observers whose sense of history is as acute, whose principles are so fundamental and whose common sense so accessible and so traditionally American. And when this century is tidied away in the history books, it is to George Kennan's journals, essays, and papers that historians will go for the most thoughtful, farsighted, and enduring American commentary on its terrible events."--S. J. Hamrick, Chicago Tribune (Editor's Choice)
"Kennan's voice is unique . . . informed by a deep, unmatched knowledge of Russia's people and history."--Matthew Dallek, Boston Book Review
"[Kennan] has a large and sagacious mind. . . . It is an inspiration to read his reflections on the eternal truths of morality and power."--John Keegan, London Daily Telegraph
The distinguished statesman George F. Kennan has written widely on diplomatic history and current affairs, including the bestselling Around the Cragged Hill. Among his many awards are two Pulitzer prizes and a National Book Award. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
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