I’m about halfway through this lengthy biography. Isaacson has written a very balanced account of Kissinger and it includes evidence of his intelligence and his foibles including his titanic ego. He was astonishingly thin skinned. After the book came out, Kissinger, for a while, stopped speaking to the author. Finally, a phone call came. “Well Walter…even the 30 years war had to come to an end.” The ice had broken, and they continued to be in contact.
I got through a few more chapters since writing this post. I should add that there is more information about Melvin Laird. He was more adroit at operating within the context of palace intrigue than I originally understood. He was one of the few people who could more than hold his own with Henry. Laird was a skilled bureaucratic infighter.
Thanks, Dick, for a wonderful summary review of a most complex and powerful figure in American foreign policy!
I got through a few more chapters since writing this post. I should add that there is more information about Melvin Laird. He was more adroit at operating within the context of palace intrigue than I originally understood. He was one of the few people who could more than hold his own with Henry. Laird was a skilled bureaucratic infighter.