eBook On China ePub

by Henry Kissinger

Author: Henry Kissinger
Language: English
ISBN: 1594202710
ISBN13: 978-1594202711
Publisher: Penguin Press; 1 edition (May 17, 2011)
Pages: 608
Category: Humanities
Subcategory: Other
Rating: 4.5
Votes: 345
Formats: mobi txt doc lrf
ePub file: 1438 kb
Fb2 file: 1383 kb

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FREE shipping on qualifying offers. The book deftly traces the rhythms and patterns of Chinese history.

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Henry A. Kissinger’s fascinating, shrewd and sometimes perverse new book, On China, tries to show how the history of China has shaped its foreign policy and attitudes toward the West. Continue reading the main story. It’s been four decades since President Richard M. Nixon sent Henry A. Kissinger to Beijing to re-establish contact with China, an ancient civilization with which the United States, at that point, had had no high-level diplomatic contact for more than two decades.

On China, Henry Kissinger. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. This book could not have been written without the dedicated and able assistance of associates and of friends who permitted me to impose on them for help. Schuyler Schouten was indispensable

On China, Henry Kissinger. Schuyler Schouten was indispensable. He came to my attention eight years ago when Professor John Gaddis of Yale recommended him as one of his ablest students.

After nearly 600 pages, Kissinger fails to address the key question: why and how did President Richard Nixon decide that it was in America's interests to protect communist China? Kissinger tells us that this de facto alliance was personally decided by Nixon in August 1969 just as the Soviet Union was preparing to launch a pre-emptive nuclear attack on China

China is the country that Henry Kissinger understands the most. His Mandarin is very good, as shown in this book.

China is the country that Henry Kissinger understands the most. As Kissinger points out, China had the highest estimated GDP for the centuries from 0 to 1800. Now, China is merely in the process of becoming the greatest economic power again.

On China is a 2011 non-fiction book by Henry Kissinger, former United States Secretary of State. Kissinger, one of the most famous diplomats of the 20th century, is well known for the role he played in Sino-American relations during the Nixon administration and in particular the 1972 Nixon visit to China. Thus, his book focuses on Chinese history through the lens of foreign policy considerations, and in particular his own brand of realpolitik.

Henry Kissinger’s On China . For a book of such general scope there are surprisingly few errors of fact

Henry Kissinger’s On China. China relations, and briefly but incisively to address the challenge of sustaining a mutually beneficial interaction. It adds an honorable two inches to the diplomat’s already broad shelf of works. For a book of such general scope there are surprisingly few errors of fact. Perhaps the most important one is the claim that during the Taiwan Strait crisis of 1996 two . carrier battlegroups sailed through the strait.

Henry Alfred Kissinger (/ˈkɪsɪndʒər/; German: ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger; May 27, 1923) is an American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. A Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1938, he became National Security Advisor in 1969 and . Secretary of State in 1973

Henry Kissinger: My impression of President Xi is of a very thoughtful and strong personality who has assessed the situation of China when he took over.

Henry Kissinger: My impression of President Xi is of a very thoughtful and strong personality who has assessed the situation of China when he took over. And he has concluded that to make comparable progress as had been made in the 30 years before he took office,China needs to take significant reforms in key areas and he has specified these areas. Wang Guan: We know this year is a big anniversary–35th anniversary of the (. Can you take us back to those weeks and months in 1971 and 1972, how hard was it for you, President Nixon, and for your Chinese counterparts to rise above domestic politics and establish this very relationship?

In this sweeping and insightful history, Henry Kissinger turns for the first time at book-length to a country he has known intimately for decades, and whose modern relations with the West he helped shape. Drawing on historical records as well as his conversations with Chinese leaders over the past forty years, Kissinger examines how China has approached diplomacy, strategy, and negotiation throughout its history, and reflects on the consequences for the global balance of power in the 21st century. Since no other country can claim a more powerful link to its ancient past and classical principles, any attempt to understand China's future world role must begin with an appreciation of its long history. For centuries, China rarely encountered other societies of comparable size and sophistication; it was the "Middle Kingdom," treating the peoples on its periphery as vassal states. At the same time, Chinese statesmen-facing threats of invasion from without, and the contests of competing factions within-developed a canon of strategic thought that prized the virtues of subtlety, patience, and indirection over feats of martial prowess. In On China, Kissinger examines key episodes in Chinese foreign policy from the classical era to the present day, with a particular emphasis on the decades since the rise of Mao Zedong. He illuminates the inner workings of Chinese diplomacy during such pivotal events as the initial encounters between China and modern European powers, the formation and breakdown of the Sino-Soviet alliance, the Korean War, Richard Nixon's historic trip to Beijing, and three crises in the Taiwan Straits. Drawing on his extensive personal experience with four generation of Chinese leaders, he brings to life towering figures such as Mao, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping, revealing how their different visions have shaped China's modern destiny. With his singular vantage on U.S.-China relations, Kissinger traces the evolution of this fraught but crucial relationship over the past 60 years, following its dramatic course from estrangement to strategic partnership to economic interdependence, and toward an uncertain future. With a final chapter on the emerging superpower's 21st-century world role, On China provides an intimate historical perspective on Chinese foreign affairs from one of the premier statesmen of the 20th century.

Wrathmaster

In On China, Kissinger describes what he calls the "triangulation" between China, the US, and the USSR. Kissinger tells us that Chinese leaders, starting with Mao Zedong, skillfully played the Americans and Russians off against each other, bolstering China's relatively weak position and enabling it to behave as a third Superpower. This account is the most significant element in On China, though Kissinger gives us more. He briefly sketches China's history, including the odd fact that the vast country apparently has no origin myth -- even in its oldest stories China was simply always there -- and then brings the picture into increasing detail as he moves forward, achieving the sharpest focus in those years when Kissinger himself was closely involved in the Chinese--American interaction. Along the way we get glimpses of the personalities of 20th and 21st century Chinese leaders. Mao, for example, comes across as brilliant and fiercely determined, but lacking any sense of empathy. Zhou Enlai was subtle, polite and solicitous, but distant. Deng Xioping was practical, down-to-earth, and direct, and so on -- the former Secretary of State is at pains to be objective and to give everyone his due. Kissinger may be an old cold warrior, and some will never forgive him for his involvement with the Vietnam war and the bombing of Cambodia, but his analyses are always insightful, and it is fascinating to follow his mind at work. Highly recommended.

Datrim

The book is of immense value to anyone with even a passing interest in US, China relations. While some may criticize HAK for his treatment of Moa and other significant dignitaries, i.e. he does not go into detail regarding personalities and character traits, he does provide adequate information concerning their thoughts and statements related to his, HAK's, experience with them. Typical of Kissinger writings related to historical events, he frames all actors in such a way as to explain their behavior, rather than to microscopically examine their motives or personalities....with the practical effect, the reader is allowed to concentrate on events, instead of becoming embroiled in particulars related to individuals..........All people have particulars, about which, volumes of speculative writings could be generated; HAK penetrates and emphasizes the traits understandable to virtually every person. I believe the great lesson presented by this volume is that deep understanding of previous events, not the random occurrence various personalities, is the touchstone of successful international relations. HAK is a master of not losing perspective on the forest by becoming too concerned with the individual trees.

Muniath

I’m giving this book 5 stars because of its uniqueness and the value of its personal interpretation of events, the many direct quotes and examples given, and the the author’s obvious importance in the last 40 years of world history. That is not to say this is a perfect book. It’s is peculiar to itself and worth the read.

As someone who has studied and lived in China, though after the periods referred to in the book for the most part, I find many of his explanations and analysis to be worthy of serious consideration and based on historical fact with consideration of the ancient and modern Chinese consciousness. Do I agree with everything? No. This book would have been too tame and timid if every statement expressed in its pages were wholly supported by all readers.

I anticipate, from a quick scan of other reviews, that some will find the author rather laudatory towards several of the Chinese leaders mentioned. He does show respect, something the American republic is often hesitant to do towards any foreign leader or even our own; however, you will find he writes with similar respect towards American leaders of similar time periods and it is impossible to write clear facts in some cases, without it being assumed that credit is being given.

The author has a very well realized concept of the stumbling blocks, cultural tripping points and shear weight of history that face any combination of leaders from China and the U.S. as they try to step forward into the future. In many cases, it seems that he is refraining from judgement or attempting to put forth facts that the general public with its media pipeline of information, may not have considered. One must read this book for its value as a statement of viewpoint and personally experienced event, understood from one man’s perspective. It is useful, in and of itself; all accounts of history have a perspective unique to the telling and the study of what it perceived or advertised is nearly as important as the event themselves. Consider Ramesses II and his carving commemorating the defeat of the Hittites at Kadesh.