Gary J. Bass is the author of"Freedom s Battle: The Origins of Humanitarian Intervention"and"Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals."He is a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University.A former reporter for"The Economist, "he often writes for "The""New York Times"and has also written for"The New Yorker, The Washington Post, "the"Los Angeles Times, TheBoston Globe, The New Republic, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Slate, "and other publications."
Praise for "The Blood Telegram"
Finalist, Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction
Lionel Gelber Prize
A "New York Times" Notable Book of the Year
A "Washington Post" Notable Book of the Year
An"Economist"Best Book of the Year
A "Financial Times" Best Book of the Year
A "New Republic" Best Book of the Year
A "Kirkus Reviews" Best Book of the Year
"This is a dark and amazing tale, an essential reminder . . .
Devastating . . . Shocking . . . Nixon and Kissinger spent the
decades after leaving office burnishing their images as great
statesmen. This book goes a long way in showing just how undeserved
those reputations are."
Dexter Filkins, "The New York Times Book Review"
"[A] gripping and well-researched book . . . Sheds fresh light on a
shameful moment in American foreign policy . . . Admirable
clarity."
"The Economist
"
"A profoundly disturbing account of the hitherto hidden role of
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger in the slaughter of hundreds of
thousands . . . Bass has defeated the attempted coverup through
laborious culling of relevant sections of the Nixon White House
tapes, declassified State Department documents and interviews with
former officials, American and Indian, who were involved . . .
After reading Bass's account of this shameful episode, one has to .
. . conclude that where the Bengalis were concerned, Kissinger and
Nixon simply did not give a damn."
Neil Sheehan, "The Washington Post
""Bass takes us inside the Oval Office to reveal the scandalous
role America played in the 1971 slaughter in what is now
Bangladesh. Largely unknown here, the story combines the human
tragedy of Darfur, the superpower geopolitics of the Cuban missile
crisis and the illegal shenanigans of Iran-contra . . . [A]
harrowing tale."
" "Peter Baker," The New York Times
"
"Devastating . . . Excellent . . . Bass, a historian at Princeton,
has written an account learned, riveting, and eviscerating of the
delusions and the deceptions of Nixon and Kissinger.Steeped in the
forensic skills of a professional academic historian, he also
possesses the imaginative energies of a classical moralist, and he
tells the story of the choices and the decisions that led to the
slaughter in Bengal . . . appropriately as a moral saga . . .
Indispensable."
Sunil Khilnani, "The New Republic"
"Ariveting read with direct relevance to many of the most acute
foreign-policy debates of today."
Gideon Rachman, "Financial Times"
"Absorbing . . . Bass draws up a severe indictment of Nixon and
Kissinger."
Pankaj Mishra, "The New Yorker
"
"The best book I read this year was Gary Bass's "The Blood
Telegram," which showed through superb reporting and excellent
analysis that Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger gleefully abetted
the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent Bengalis . . .
Excellent."
Isaac Chotiner, "The New Republic
"
"Thankfully, Princeton University professor Gary Bass has provided
us with a helpful reminder of Nixon's true character. In" The Blood
Telegram," Bass expertly recounts the stunning indifference of
Nixon and . . . Henry Kissinger to the reports from US diplomats of
Pakistani genocide . . . Vivid, often disquieting detail from Oval
Office tapes unearthed by Bass . . . Bass has performed an
essential function."
Michael Cohen, "The Guardian
"
"[A] superb book." . ."Bass deploys White House recordings,
including several new transcripts, to excellent effect, and . . .
the book contains enough material to make the reader sick. . .
Astonishing . . . A morally serious book that nevertheless reads
like a first-rate novel."
"The Times Literary Supplement"
"It was a non-subject for scholars, a no man's land for knowledge .
. . [u]ntil the arrival of a memorable book by Princeton professor
Gary Bass . . . While doing justice to the victims, also, for the
first time, draws out for us its lessons . . . The book is also a
tribute to politics in its true sense . . . I do want readers to be
aware of the appearance of Gary Bass' book, which I hope will be
widely read (and translated into French!) . . . A return to
Bangladesh is required reading."
Bernard-Henri Levy, "Le Point"
"[A] stellar new book . . . Astonishing. . ."The Blood Telegram" .
. . remedies that omission. The book is a meticulously researched
and searing indictment of the shameful role the United States
played . . . The book tells of the damage wrought when world
leaders abandon rational calculation and allow their country's
interests to be subordinated to personal prejudices and
animosities."
" Foreign Policy
"
"Bass has written the definitive account of the political
machinations behind one of the worst (and most widely ignored)
humanitarian crises of the 20th century . . . Bass also offers
Americans much-needed context about America's pre-9/11 involvement
in a region where it still finds itself with bloody hands . . ."The
Blood Telegram"offers a nuanced yet unflinching look at the
juxtaposition of geopolitics and humanitarian crisis. Bass shines a
much-needed spotlight on yet another dark corner of modern American
history."
" "Nick Turse," The Daily Beast
""Blistering . . . [A] must-read."
" The New York Post
"
"Fascinating . . . [A] rich book, constantly shifting between
Washington, New Delhi and Islamabad, all corners of the narrative
expertly covered by the author . . . Bass's skill in unravelling
the complex strands . . . is admirable."
Michael Young, "The National
"
"Asearing indictment . . . A shocking tale . . . We witness here
the best of American diplomatic tradition on the ground led by U.S.
Consul General Archer Blood in Dacca against the worst in the White
House . . ."The Blood Telegram" sends an acidic whiff from the past
to the present through a deeply cautionary tale."
William Thorsell, "The Globe and Mail" (Toronto)
"Amazing . . .Bass exhumes the tragic, relatively unknown
story."
"The Japan Times
"
"It has been a long time since I have read a book that has spoken
as powerfully to me as "The Blood Telegram." The relevancy and
power of this book stems from the basic moral dilemmas that it
addresses on practically every page. Every person planning to join
the United States Foreign Service, or already serving should read
this book."
"American Diplomacy
"
"Unsettling . . . It breaks new historical ground with rigorous
scholarship . . . Insightful and chilling."
"Idaho Statesman"
"Harrowing . . . A damning portrait . . . Tremendously lucid . . .
Bass holds these leaders to a much-needed reckoning. A deeply
incisive lesson for today's leaders and electorate."
"Kirkus Reviews" (starred)
"The most notable new arrival on most people s bookshelves is Gary
Bass'"Blood Telegram" . . . Readers are given a full account of the
horrors of that near-genocide, and of the cynicism of Richard Nixon
and Henry Kissinger. It is a remarkable achievement, and deserves
to be on every shelf."
Mihir S. Sharma, "Business Standard"
"[An] engrossing, droll, and ultimately shocking account of
Bangladesh s liberation war, as seen from Washington . . . Bass's
meticulously researched book resurrects the reputation of an unsung
diplomat."
Salil Tripathi, "Mint" (New Delhi)
"This is an immensely absorbing book for those interested in not
just Indo-US relations but the making of foreign policy in
democracies as a whole."
"The Indian Express
"
"The book sets the record straight of a disgraceful period in US
foreign policy . . . Brutal detail . . . Nixon stands disgraced
over Watergate but his wilful role in the genocide in East Pakistan
had not till now received the full historical attention it
deserved."
Minhaz Merchant, "The Times of India"
"He writes in a vivid and racy style and never fails to hold the
reader's attention. The book is a thoroughly researched and damning
indictment . . . Bass demolishes Kissinger s defence . . . Deeply
perceptive."
"Outlook India"
"[A] gripping, if sordid, story . . . A startling revelation."
Shougat Dasgupta, "Tehelka"
"Gripping.His material is so rich and his research so detailed that
it is difficult to put down the book once one begins to read it . .
. Bass has accomplished something truly remarkable."
" The Asian Age
""A scathing indictment . . . Bass . . . dismantles the smug aura
of success that has generally been attached to the Kissinger-Nixon
era . . .The book combines a racy narrative with meticulous
research and excellent academic rigour. . .Bass offers a fresh
perspective."
"The Hindu
"
"A monumental account."
"Economic & Political Weekly" (Mumbai)
"Most admirable and thorough . . .An accomplished scholar of human
rights, Bass draws on a mass of documents and tapes to shed lighton
the United States of America's involvement. . . Bass's cumulative
indictment of Nixon and Kissinger is formidable . . . The wealth of
detail and the range of insights in this fine book."
Srinath Raghavan, "The Telegraph" (Kolkata)
"An absorbing book . . . A fine portrayal . . . A damning
indictment."
" The Daily Star"(Dhaka)
"Eminently readable and exhaustively researched . . . Gripping . .
.The book is peerless in the sheer quality and quantity of sources
it uses . . .An unmatched account."
"Dawn" (Karachi)
"Gripping . . .A chilling and bare-knuckle account. . . A scalding
view . . . The book spares no players."
Sherry Rehman, "The News International" (Pakistan)
"Fascinating insights . . . Unique . . .The book is a powerful
indictment of Nixon and Kissinger."
"The Friday Times" (Lahore)
With urgent, cinematic immediacy, Gary Bass reconstructs a critical
and, to this day, profoundly consequential chapter of Cold War
history defined by appalling American complicity in genocidal
atrocity, and terrifyingly high-stakes superpower brinksmanship. It
is a story of immense scope, vividly populated by figures of
enduring fascination, and ripe with implications for the ongoing
struggle to strike a more honorable balance between wartime
realpolitik and our ideals of common humanity.
Philip Gourevitch, author of "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow
We Will Be Killed With Our Families"
Gary Bass has excavated a great tragedy, one that s been forgotten
by Americans but is seared into the memory of South Asians. His
talents as a scholar, writer, and foreign-policy analyst are on
full display in this brilliant work of narrative history. Nixon and
Kissinger come damningly alive on the pages of a book that shows,
like nothing else I've read, the folly that goes by the name of
realism.
George Packer, author of "The Unwinding: An Inner History of the
New America"
Gary Bass has done it again, uncovering a dark chapter in the
historical record and bringing it vividly to light, forcing us to
confront who we were then and who we are now. "The Blood Telegram"
is a richly textured story with many fascinating layers, from the
moral bankruptcy of U.S. leaders in the face of genocide to the
multi-faceted politics of South Asia and the lasting geopolitical
legacy of these events. It s also simply hard to put down!
Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of "A New World Order"
Gary Bass is unique: an investigative historian who explores the
past in a masterly way that combines the best of journalism and
scholarship. His latest book reads like an urgent dispatch from the
frontline of genocide, a lucid and poignant description of a moral
collapse in American foreign policy. Bass has painstakingly written
a vital history and a story, in the best sense of the word that we
must come to grips with.
Peter Maass, author of "Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War""
Praise for "The Blood Telegram"
A "New York Times" Notable Book of the Year
A "Washington Post" Notable Book of the Year
An "Economist" Best Book of the Year
A "Financial Times" Best Book of the Year
A "New Republic" Best Book of the Year
A "Kirkus Reviews" Best Book of the Year
"This is a dark and amazing tale, an essential reminder . . .
Devastating . . . Shocking . . . Nixon and Kissinger spent the
decades after leaving office burnishing their images as great
statesmen. This book goes a long way in showing just how undeserved
those reputations are."
--Dexter Filkins, "The New York Times Book Review"
"[A] gripping and well-researched book . . . Sheds fresh light on a
shameful moment in American foreign policy . . . Admirable
clarity."
--"The Economist
"
"A profoundly disturbing account of the hitherto hidden role of
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger in the slaughter of hundreds of
thousands . . . Bass has defeated the attempted coverup through
laborious culling of relevant sections of the Nixon White House
tapes, declassified State Department documents and interviews with
former officials, American and Indian, who were involved . . .
After reading Bass's account of this shameful episode, one has to .
. . conclude that where the Bengalis were concerned, Kissinger and
Nixon simply did not give a damn."
--Neil Sheehan, "The Washington Post
""Bass takes us inside the Oval Office to reveal the scandalous
role America played in the 1971 slaughter in what is now
Bangladesh. Largely unknown here, the story combines the human
tragedy of Darfur, the superpower geopolitics of the Cuban missile
crisis and the illegal shenanigans of Iran-contra . . . [A]
harrowing tale."
"--"Peter Baker," The New York Times
"
"Devastating . . . Excellent . . . Bass, a historian at Princeton,
has written an account--learned, riveting, and eviscerating--of the
delusions and the deceptions of Nixon and Kissi
Praise for "The Blood Telegram"
"This is a dark and amazing tale, an essential reminder . . .
Devastating . . . Shocking . . . Nixon and Kissinger spent the
decades after leaving office burnishing their images as great
statesmen. This book goes a long way in showing just how undeserved
those reputations are."
--Dexter Filkins, "The New York Times Book Review"
"[A] gripping and well-researched book . . . Sheds fresh light on a
shameful moment in American foreign policy . . . Admirable
clarity."
--"The Economist
"
"A profoundly disturbing account of the hitherto hidden role of
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger in the slaughter of hundreds of
thousands . . . Bass has defeated the attempted coverup through
laborious culling of relevant sections of the Nixon White House
tapes, declassified State Department documents and interviews with
former officials, American and Indian, who were involved . . .
After reading Bass's account of this shameful episode, one has to .
. . conclude that where the Bengalis were concerned, Kissinger and
Nixon simply did not give a damn."
--Neil Sheehan, "The Washington Post
"
"Devastating . . . Excellent . . . Bass, a historian at Princeton,
has written an account--learned, riveting, and eviscerating--of the
delusions and the deceptions of Nixon and Kissinger. Steeped in the
forensic skills of a professional academic historian, he also
possesses the imaginative energies of a classical moralist, and he
tells the story of the choices and the decisions that led to the
slaughter in Bengal . . . appropriately as a moral saga . . .
Indispensable."
--Sunil Khilnani, "The New Republic"
"Absorbing . . . Bass draws up a severe indictment of Nixon and
Kissinger."
--Pankaj Mishra, "The New Yorker"
"It was a non-subject for scholars, a no man's land for knowledge .
. . [u]ntil the arrival of a memorable book by Princeton professor
Gary Bass . . . While doing justice to the victims, also, for the
firs
Advance Praise for "The Blood Telegram"
"[T]remendously lucid . . . Bass holds these leaders to a
much-needed reckoning. A deeply incisive lesson for today's leaders
and electorate."
--"Kirkus Reviews" (starred)
"With urgent, cinematic immediacy, Gary Bass reconstructs a
critical--and, to this day, profoundly consequential--chapter of
Cold War history defined by appalling American complicity in
genocidal atrocity, and terrifyingly high-stakes superpower
brinksmanship. It is a story of immense scope, vividly populated by
figures of enduring fascination, and ripe with implications for the
ongoing struggle to strike a more honorable balance between wartime
realpolitik and our ideals of common humanity."
--Philip Gourevitch, author of "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow
We Will Be Killed With Our Families"
"Gary Bass has excavated a great tragedy, one that's been forgotten
by Americans but is seared into the memory of South Asians. His
talents as a scholar, writer, and foreign-policy analyst are on
full display in this brilliant work of narrative history. Nixon and
Kissinger come damningly alive on the pages of a book that shows,
like nothing else I've read, the folly that goes by the name of
'realism.'"
--George Packer, author of "The Unwinding: An Inner History of the
New America"
"Gary Bass has done it again, uncovering a dark chapter in the
historical record and bringing it vividly to light, forcing us to
confront who we were then and who we are now. "The Blood Telegram"
is a richly textured story with many fascinating layers, from the
moral bankruptcy of U.S. leaders in the face of genocide to the
multi-faceted politics of South Asia and the lasting geopolitical
legacy of these events. It's also simply hard to put down!"
--Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of "A New World Order"
"Gary Bass is unique: an investigative historian who explores the
past in a masterly way that combines the best of journalism and
scholarshi
Advance Praise for "The Blood Telegram"
"With urgent, cinematic immediacy, Gary Bass reconstructs a
critical--and, to this day, profoundly consequential--chapter of
Cold War history defined by appalling American complicity in
genocidal atrocity, and terrifyingly high-stakes superpower
brinksmanship. It is a story of immense scope, vividly populated by
figures of enduring fascination, and ripe with implications for the
ongoing struggle to strike a more honorable balance between wartime
realpolitik and our ideals of common humanity."
--Philip Gourevitch, author of "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow
We Will Be Killed With Our Families"
"Gary Bass has excavated a great tragedy, one that's been forgotten
by Americans but is seared into the memory of South Asians. His
talents as a scholar, writer, and foreign-policy analyst are on
full display in this brilliant work of narrative history. Nixon and
Kissinger come damningly alive on the pages of a book that shows,
like nothing else I've read, the folly that goes by the name of
'realism.'"
--George Packer, author of "The Unwinding: An Inner History of the
New America"
"Gary Bass has done it again, uncovering a dark chapter in the
historical record and bringing it vividly to light, forcing us to
confront who we were then and who we are now. "The Blood Telegram"
is a richly textured story with many fascinating layers, from the
moral bankruptcy of U.S. leaders in the face of genocide to the
multi-faceted politics of South Asia and the lasting geopolitical
legacy of these events. It's also simply hard to put down!"
--Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of "A New World Order"
"Gary Bass is unique: an investigative historian who explores the
past in a masterly way that combines the best of journalism and
scholarship. His latest book reads like an urgent dispatch from the
frontline of genocide, a lucid and poignant description of a moral
collapse in American foreign policy. Bass has painstakingl
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