Preview
  • The Inevitability of Tragedy

  • Henry Kissinger and His World
  • By: Barry Gewen
  • Narrated by: Paul Woodson
  • Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (75 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Inevitability of Tragedy

By: Barry Gewen
Narrated by: Paul Woodson
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.79

Buy for $25.79

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A new portrait of Henry Kissinger focusing on the fundamental ideas underlying his policies: Realism, balance of power, and national interest.

Few public officials have provoked such intense controversy as Henry Kissinger. During his time in the Nixon and Ford administrations, he came to be admired and hated in equal measure. Notoriously, he believed that foreign affairs ought to be based primarily on the power relationships of a situation, not simply on ethics.

He went so far as to argue that under certain circumstances America had to protect its national interests even if that meant repressing other countries' attempts at democracy. For this reason, many today on both the right and left dismiss him as a latter-day Machiavelli, ignoring the breadth and complexity of his thought.

With The Inevitability of Tragedy, Barry Gewen corrects this shallow view, presenting the fascinating story of Kissinger's development as both a strategist and an intellectual and examining his unique role in government through his ideas. It analyzes his contentious policies in Vietnam and Chile, guided by a fresh understanding of his definition of Realism, the belief that world politics is based on an inevitable, tragic competition for power.

©2020 Barry Gewen (P)2020 Kalorama
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Inevitability of Tragedy

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    45
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    41
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    37
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb analysis

One of the best written books I’ve read in the past decade. Anyone who is curious about Henry Kissinger and what he accomplished will find great satisfaction in reading this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

difficult and tedious

Difficult and tedious, I often thought it should have been titled "The Tragedy of Inevitability." Following is link to my podcast on Henry Kissinger, conflicted Jew, former Secretary of State and National Security advisor. Was he an agent for good or an evil war criminal? The greatest Secretary of State of our time? Only time will tell but I offer a number of different perspectives on the subject of Super K. http://bit.ly/3jlf76x

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Well Groomed

This book is extraordinarily well positioned in that each subtopic to the overall premise is introduced in a succinct order that provides the reader/listener with a knowledgeable foundation before understanding the processes employed in practice to the philosophical influences and abstracts utilized. This unique analysis assists in understanding what came to comprise the attitudes, and various personas that dominate US Foreign Policy decision making.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting but rambles

Not sure why a complete chapter on Arend and Strauss was needed. Various sections rambled on although well written.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Times and thinkers that made Kissinger tick

There is an extended reflection on the history and intellectuals that most influenced Kissinger. I was surprised to see Nietzsche here, and I was not familiar with Leo Strauss and Hannah Arendt. The book then moves to various of Kissinger's signature policies, in light of these influences, and places Kissinger against a backdrop of recent schools of thought in US foreign policy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

Entirely enticing and inspiring!! Having read all Kissinger’s books and his biography, I found this book adds another dimension of this complicated diplomat. I would find other books by this author.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!