Why people recommend it
Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger is an extensive historical analysis of international relations, foreign policy strategy, and the balance of power from the seventeenth century through the modern era. The prominent book was discussed and recommended across distinct political and history podcasts. On The Ezra Klein Show, Fareed Zakaria recommended Diplomacy as an essential text for anyone wanting to gain a thorough understanding of historical foreign policy and the historical evolution of statecraft from the eighteenth century up to the 1970s and 1980s. Zakaria praised the book as a wonderful historical overview of international ups and downs. Conversely, Robert Evans brought up Kissinger's work on Behind the Bastards while recounting a past debate with a friend. Evans noted that while some argued Diplomacy was the definitive volume required to truly comprehend American statesmanship, he maintained a drastically different perspective on mandatory reading for understanding modern political psychology. These contrasting mentions highlight the polarizing nature of Kissinger's legacy in contemporary discourse, where his analytical texts on international relations are simultaneously lauded as masterclasses in historical strategy and scrutinized through the lens of modern political criticism, ensuring the book remains a frequent topic of debate among foreign policy observers and podcast hosts alike.
Who recommended it
- Robert Evans Discussed
- Fareed Zakaria Recommended
Robert Evans — 1 mention
“yeah I I've had an argument with a friend about like uh whether or not like cuz his argument was that Kissinger's Diplomacy was the the book that you needed to read in order to really understand like American statesmanship and I was like no it's Michelle remembers that's the book you need to read if you want to understand”
Fareed Zakaria — 1 mention
“the second would be if you want to get a feel for 19th 18th century diplomacy and you know it's ups and downs uh Henry Kissinger wrote a wonderful kind of History called diplomacy and it begins in the 17th century and it goes all the way to you know the 1970s 80s as I recall”