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 unique 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. The book concentrates on the decades since 1949, presenting brilliantly drawn portraits of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping and other Chinese leaders, and reproducing verbatim Kissinger's conversations with each of them. But Kissinger's eye rarely leaves the long continuum of Chinese history: he describes the essence of China's approach to diplomacy, strategy and negotiation, and the remarkable ways in which Communist-era statesmen have drawn on methods honed over millennia. At the end of the book, Kissinger reflects on these attitudes for our own era of economic interdependence and an uncertain future. "On China" is written with great authority, complete accessibility and with many wider reflections on statecraft and diplomacy distilled from years of experience. At a moment when the rest of the world is thinking about China more than ever before, this timely book offers insights that no other can.

About the Author

Henry Kissinger served as National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and has advised many other American presidents on foreign policy. He received the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Medal of Liberty, among other awards. He is the author of numerous books and articles on foreign policy and diplomacy, and is currently Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm.

Reviews

Diplomacy: the art of restraining power. Henry Kissinger

Kissinger, at the age of 88, presents a beguiling, penetrating, and indispensable survey of China's classical and modern relations with the world. It is not perfect. Specialists will fault the premodern chapters for accepting the myth of China's Middle Kingdom complex and disagree with particular points in later chapters. Still, the story of relations since the 1950s is at once full of insights into the leaders and their psychologies, epic in its sweep, and challenging in its underlying argument on the nature of diplomacy. Critics charge that Kissinger's realpolitik subordinated morality to great power hegemony and stability, but the narrative aims to show that America's foundational principles of freedom and human rights are not advanced by unilateral declarations and ritualistic denunciation. Because Chinese leaders have long since ceased to spread their ideology and perceive Americans as hypocritical in seeking to impose theirs, to hector China is to ignore genuine popular hypersensitivity to imperialism, undermine projects of mutual benefit, and discredit leaders who seek a "peaceful rise" as being in China's national interest. Verdict Essential for everyone with an interest in China. [See Prepub Alert, 11/29/10.]-Charles W. Hayford, Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.