The Trial of Henry Kissinger
by Christopher Hitchens
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 158)
bookshelves:
historyonics,
hitch,
political-badassery,
shattering--underrated
This is excellent stuff.
Kissinger is the kind of public figure non-political junkies might know a bit about but haven't really got a full grasp on yet. He's vaguely, smellingly evil in other words.
This book brings it all out into the open.
Hitchens writes clearly and devastatingly, with understatement. He lets the facts do the talking. And they do a LOT of talking.
Basically, Hitch is a journalist and has hated Kissinger for years but he has a strong prosecutorial streak ...more
Read in November, 2006
This is excellent stuff.
Kissinger is the kind of public figure non-political junkies might know a bit about but haven't really got a full grasp on yet. He's vaguely, smellingly evil in other words.
This book brings it all out into the open.
Hitchens writes clearly and devastatingly, with understatement. He lets the facts do the talking. And they do a LOT of talking.
Basically, Hitch is a journalist and has hated Kissinger for years but he has a strong prosecutorial streak ...more
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re-reading
Read in July, 2006
recommends it for:
Political Junkies and Intellectuals
Great book for political intrigue fans. This was the book the documentary of the same name pulls most of its information. The author is also interviewed extensively in the documentary.
What is nice about the book, though, is that Christopher Hitchens is able to explore more areas of foreign policy than the film. Two examples include an incident with an American merchant ship captured off the coast of Cambodia and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
Hitchens is very fond of the high-score SA...more
What is nice about the book, though, is that Christopher Hitchens is able to explore more areas of foreign policy than the film. Two examples include an incident with an American merchant ship captured off the coast of Cambodia and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
Hitchens is very fond of the high-score SA...more
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Read in April, 2008
Christopher Hitchens despises Henry Kissinger. In this book he vehemently lays out a studied hypothetical legal take-down of the most controversial of controversial American government actors. Its hard to argue with much of the evidence that Hitchens has collected here. It portrays a man who perpetually posed an insidious threat to small, left-leaning democracies the world over and those who support him. Hitchens is willing to parse every noted word the former secretary has spoken to make hi...more
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Read in December, 2002
Looking past the author's more recent work, this is a great, great book. And anyone who thinks Nixon was better than Bush needs to take a read through this first. In pure body count - the Nixon administration still has Bush beat. Kissinger's dicking around in south east Asia puts millions dead on Nixon's administration. The book starts off with how Kissinger helped sabotaged the 1968 peace deal between north and south Vietnam (getting himself and Nixon elected and prolonging the time and casualt...more
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bookshelves:
becoming-an-informed-citizen,
chile
Read in January, 2008
In my effort to get some understanding of Chile, I've been descending into an investigation of Kissinger and increasingly Nixon. Hutchins is an incredibly writer and I actually think this book is a great read for someone who wants to learn how to write a compelling (and one-sided) essay. This is a rant against Kissinger. Yet it is also a thoughtful piece for Americans to think about how the actors in our foreign policy relate to both US and international law. Just because they are in the govern...more
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Hitchens nails Kissinger in this well-written polemic, calling out Herr Heinz for crimes against humanity, and in no uncertain terms. Since I have a great personal fascination with Henry Kissinger, this is one I've spent some time with. My anger waxes full. Future generations would be wise to study Kissinger. His influence in global business and politics is great. He is the majordomo for and liaison between the leaders of industry and government who understand that the nation-state is increasing...more
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Read in May, 2004
This book will make you ill over all the stuff Kissinger got away with. The corresponding film is also worth watching if you can get your hands on it. Use this book as a foundation, then read some of Kissinger's own writings... compare his essays published in the 70s with the "revised" anthologies released more recently and note how he swiftly rewrites history.
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Kissinger's mendacity was great and his venal corruption of the "peace process" in Vietnam should be known to all, not to mention (but to mention) his chessboard moves with the pawns that were the East Timorese. War crimes of a managerial stature--the civilian wields cold. Hitchens' incisive style is at times deliciously brusque.
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recommends it for:
People who like to read books about things they can already deduce for themselves
Here's what I took from this book:
Kissinger is a fucking punk ass hole who has relative morality. But who DIDN'T know that? One thing I did learn was that Kissinger cannot go to some countries because there are outstanding international warrants for his arrest for crimes against humanity, war crimes etc etc.
Kissinger is a fucking punk ass hole who has relative morality. But who DIDN'T know that? One thing I did learn was that Kissinger cannot go to some countries because there are outstanding international warrants for his arrest for crimes against humanity, war crimes etc etc.
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bookshelves:
non-fiction
Transcripts accentuate the mentality of one political man of power. Power seems to always imply that someone deserves respect, and I suppose that will always be a matter of subjectivity. In the grand scheme of things, his legacy proves far more nefarious than the likes of Ted Bundy.
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fuck kissinger.. this short book sometimes gets overburdened by the glut of its more minute details, but thats what makes it worthwhile.. yet you could probably get a good summary of the same info in articles out there about kissinger's war crimes..
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bookshelves:
non-fiction,
politics--history
Read in August, 2008
I couldn't get into this book at all. Hitchens crams a ton of information into a little bitty book without expounding on a lot of what I think would be important information to understand to full effect of Kissinger and his policies.
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Takes a big dump on Kissinger - wrt his policies on Cambodia/Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Chile - if even 60% of what Hitchens claims is tru, Kissinger needs to be tried in the intl court of justice - a'la Pinochet.
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Read this to find out why Henry Kissinger is a pretty bad person, and why Christopher Hitchens, regardless of his views on the Iraq war, is a brilliant critic of horrible people who have done horrible things.
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Read in April, 2008
Insightful look at Kissinger's role in the darker side of American foreign policy. If ever someone deserved the contempt of those genuinely believing in the American way of life, he does.
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Henry Kissinger cannot travel to certain countries--not even a layover--because people there will immediately arrest him and try him for war crimes.
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bookshelves:
to-read
Has a copy to sell/swap
I feel like I should read this book. I've tried twice but couldn't get into it. Maybe the third time it will all work out...
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Read in January, 2001
Creeping sense that you dislike and mistrust Kissinger? This will let you know why. Pure ammonia. I love Hitchens.
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bookshelves:
current-events
he is an evil man. and he called donald rumsfeld "the most ruthless man [I'd} ever met."
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