Episode · Behind the Bastards · 2023-12-26
Books mentioned on CZM Rewind: Kissinger Parts 1-3
Henry Kissinger is dead! If you're wondering why people are so happy about this, listen to our six hour series on the life and crimes of one of the 20th century's greatest war criminals.
Robert Evans discussed Kissinger by Niall Ferguson, Henry Kissinger and American Power by Thomas A. Schwartz, The Power "to Coin" Money by Thomas Frederick Wilson, Kissinger's shadow by Greg Grandin, The Meaning of History by Henry Kissinger, The Decline of the West by Oswald Spengler and others, Nuclear weapons and foreign policy by Henry Kissinger, The Necessity for Choice by Henry A. Kissinger, and The trial of Henry Kissinger by Christopher Hitchens, and criticized The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Kissinger
Kissinger by Niall Ferguson is a comprehensive historical biography examining the early life and political rise of the influential American statesman Henry Kissinger.
Discussed“As this quote from Nile Ferguson's Kissinger, it's a book named Kissinger, like the guy makes clear, though no great athlete, Hines Kissinger was already a shrewd tactician”
Where to get it
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Henry Kissinger and American Power
Henry Kissinger and American Power by Thomas A.
Discussed“In his book Henry Kissinger and American Power, Schwarz writes, "Kissinger and his brothers saw the progressive segregation, isolation, and humiliation the Jews of FTH experienced.”
Where to get it
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The Power "to Coin" Money
Discussed“In his book Henry Kissinger and American Power, Schwarz writes, "Kissinger and his brothers saw the progressive segregation, isolation, and humiliation the Jews of FTH experienced.”
Where to get it
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Kissinger's shadow
Why people recommend it: Detailing the toxic reach of American foreign policy and the complex intellectual origins of state power, Kissinger's Shadow by Greg Grandin offers a sweeping critical examination of Henry Kissinger.
Discussed“Um I I want to quote now from the book Kissinger's Shadow by Greg Grandon. From these thinkers, Kissinger cobbled together his own view of how history operated.”
Where to get it
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The Meaning of History
Discussed“So, a lot of folks who analyze the, uh, the Kissinger in this period sees on one sentence in Kissinger's undergraduate thesis and his thesis is titled the meaning of history”
Where to get it
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The Decline of the West
The Decline of the West by Oswald Spengler, Arthur Helps, and Charles Francis Atkinson is a sweeping historical and philosophical work that explores the cyclical rise and fall of civilizations.
Discussed“Spangler's book, The Decline of the West, is not something I am well equipped to describe or explain in detail, but Greg Grandon is, so I'm going to quote from him again.”
Where to get it
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Nuclear weapons and foreign policy
Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy by Henry Kissinger is a influential study that explores military strategy, international relations, and the doctrine of limited nuclear war during the Cold War.
Discussed“He also starts working privately on a book of his own titled Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy. And this book is a version of the stuff he wants to write and this thing he's like fighting to get out with the CFR.”
Where to get it
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The Necessity for Choice
The Necessity for Choice by Henry A.
Discussed“So in 1961 he publishes a book titled The Necessity of Choice which is his manifesto on how the United States should approach foreign policy in the 1960s.”
Where to get it
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The trial of Henry Kissinger
The Trial of Henry Kissinger by Christopher Hitchens is a scathing investigative critique that examines the wartime actions and foreign policy decisions of the former U.S.
Discussed“In the trial of Henry Kissinger, Christopher Hitchens writes, quote, "From his seat in the Pentagon, Clifford, who's again the Secretary of Defense, had actually been able to read the intelligence transcripts”
Where to get it
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The Bomber Mafia
The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell is a work of narrative nonfiction examining the strategic bombing campaigns of World War II and the eccentric technologists who championed them.
Critiqued“Curtis Lame, who was one of the people cheering on the bombing of this random island, is essentially the hero of Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Bomber Mafia, which talks about how cool the bombing apparatus we set up was”
Where to get it
