Leaders & Notable People
An instant New York Times bestsellerHenry Kissinger, consummate diplomat
and statesman, examines the strategies of six great twentieth-century
figures and brings to life a unifying theory of leadership and diplomacy“An
extraordinary book, one that braids together two through lines in the long
and distinguished career of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger…In
Leadership he presents a fascinating set of historical case studies and
political biographies that blend the dance and the dancer, seamlessly.” –
James Stavridis, The Wall Street Journal“Leaders,” writes Henry Kissinger
in this compelling book, “think and act at the intersection of two axes:
the first, between the past and the future; the second, between the abiding
values and aspirations of those they lead. They must balance what they
know, which is necessarily drawn from the past, with what they intuit about
the future, which is inherently conjectural and uncertain. It is this
intuitive grasp of direction that enables leaders to set objectives and lay
down a strategy.” In Leadership, Kissinger analyses the lives of six
extraordinary leaders through the distinctive strategies of statecraft,
which he believes they embodied. After the Second World War, Konrad
Adenauer brought defeated and morally bankrupt Germany back into the
community of nations by what Kissinger calls “the strategy of humility.”
Charles de Gaulle set France beside the victorious Allies and renewed its
historic grandeur by “the strategy of will.” During the Cold War, Richard
Nixon gave geostrategic advantage to the United States by “the strategy of
equilibrium.” After twenty-five years of conflict, Anwar Sadat brought a
vision of peace to the Middle East by a “strategy of transcendence.”
Against the odds, Lee Kuan Yew created a powerhouse city-state, Singapore,
by “the strategy of excellence.” And, though Britain was known as “the sick
man of Europe” when Margaret Thatcher came to power, she renewed her
country’s morale and international position by “the strategy of
conviction.” To each of these studies, Kissinger brings historical
perception, public experience and—because he knew each of the subjects and
participated in many of the events he describes—personal knowledge.
Leadership is enriched by insights and judgements that only Kissinger could
make and concludes with his reflections on world order and the
indispensability of leadership today. Read more

 

Genre Politics & Social Sciences