On China, Henry Kissinger
On China, Henry Kissinger
9 Rating(s)
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On China

Author: Henry Kissinger

Narrator: Nicholas Hormann

Unabridged: 20 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 05/17/2011


Synopsis

“Fascinating, shrewd . . . The book deftly traces the rhythms and patterns of Chinese history.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“No one can lay claim to so much influence on the shaping of foreign policy over the past 50 years as Henry Kissinger.” —The Financial Times

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. On China illuminates the inner workings of Chinese diplomacy during such pivotal events as the initial encounters between China and tight line modern European powers, the formation and breakdown of the Sino-Soviet alliance, the Korean War, and Richard Nixon’s historic trip to Beijing. With a new final chapter on the emerging superpower’s twenty-first-century role in global politics and economics, On China provides historical perspective on Chinese foreign affairs from one of the premier statesmen of our time.

About The Author

Henry Kissinger served in the US Army during the Second World War and subsequently held teaching posts in history and government at Harvard University for twenty years. He served as national security advisor and secretary of state under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and 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 was the author of numerous books and articles on foreign policy and diplomacy, including most recently Leadership, On China, and World Order. He served as chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm. He died in 2023.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brit on December 15, 2015

It is midnight but I am 100% percent sure that IF I didn't get these words down now and put off till next morning, a few hours sleep would eat up all memories of what need to say. Oblivion is a friend and Oblivion is a foe. The book is the narration of the Munk Debate of 2011. It's quite readable and......more

Goodreads review by Gabriel on June 07, 2021

Chega ser engraçado ler esse livro em 2021 e ter a visão de um futuro tão promissor que os debatedores indicaram há 10 anos. Hoje, pelo contrário, temos um mundo muito mais isolado, ainda incerto quanto aos resquícios da Guerra Comercial entre Estados Unidos-China e uma pandemia global que teve iníc......more

Goodreads review by Randa on June 09, 2013

China doesn't have the political capacity to claim leadership responsibility world wide. Even though, it's economy has been in a quite a rise the last ten years, there are massive inefficiencies built into the Chinese economic system. They have a huge property bubble. Their growth is highly ineffici......more

Goodreads review by Erez on September 08, 2015

This debate was conducted in Canada sometime during 2011 as part of The Munk Debates. Since I've already read almost every book by Niall Ferguson (most recently Civilization: The West and the Rest) and On China by Henry Kissinger, I felt I was rather familiar with their views on China, and so, I was......more

Goodreads review by Dylan on September 20, 2018

An extremely insightful debate on the future of China and the next century. Both sides make a very compelling case. My only problem is with Economist David Li he relies way to heavily on drawing from experience without backing it up with many statistics. Definitely read this its a solid 8.75/10......more


Quotes

“Fascinating, shrewd . . . [The book’s] portrait of China is informed by Mr. Kissinger’s intimate firsthand knowledge of several generations of Chinese leaders. The book deftly traces the rhythms and patterns in Chinese history . . . even as it explicates the philosophical differences that separate it from the United States.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“Nobody living can claim greater credit than Mr. Kissinger for America's 1971 opening to Beijing, after more than two decades of estrangement, and for China's subsequent opening to the world. So it's fitting that Mr. Kissinger has now written On China, a fluent, fascinating . . . book that is part history, part memoir and above all an examination of the premises, methods and aims of Chinese foreign policy.” The Wall Street Journal

“Fascinating . . . In On China, statesman Henry Kissinger draws on historical records and 40 years of direct interaction with four generations of Chinese leaders to analyze the link between China’s ancient past and its present day trajectory. In doing so, the man who helped shape modern East-West relations presents an often unsettling, occasionally hopeful and always compelling accounting of what we’re up against.” The Chicago Sun-Times

“Fascinating . . . No living American has played a more important role than Henry Kissinger, the former national security adviser and secretary of state, in bringing about the historic rapprochement between the United States and China. . . . [Kissinger] draw[s] deep insights into China's traumatic encounter with much stronger Western powers.” The San Francisco Chronicle

On China, Kissinger's 13th book, blends an incisive strategic analysis of the moves and countermoves of China, the United States and the former Soviet Union with telling vignettes about his meetings with Chinese Communist Party leaders . . . entertaining.” The Los Angeles Times

“No one can lay claim to so much influence on the shaping of foreign policy over the past 50 years as Henry Kissinger.” The Financial Times

“From the eminent elder statesman, an astute appraisal on Chinese diplomacy from ancient times to the fraught present “strategic trust” with the United States. Former Secretary of State Kissinger brings his considerable scholarly knowledge and professional expertise to this chronicle of the complicated evolution and precarious future of Chinese diplomacy with the West. . . . Sage words and critical perspective lent by a significant participant in historical events.” Kirkus Reviews