Reviews

• One has to admire Hersh for his forensic appraisal of Henry Kissingers time at the helm of President Nixons National Security Council (NSC). One of those astonishing facts is that some still have a high regard for the wisdom of Henry Kissinger; one has to only type his name into the search box on Amazon to read rave reviews for some of his writings. Anyone who has a tendency in that direction would be well advised to read through the 600 tightly written pages of "Kissinger: The Price of Power". Hopefully (and Im probably being hopelessly optimistic!) by the time they get to page 30 they will be cured, but will no doubt - as I did - feel compelled to read through to the end. Though focusing on Kissingers NSC and Nixon, the War in Vietnam is the thread running through the book. It provides Kissinger with the opportunity to use his contacts to inform Nixon of the efforts for peace being made by the Johnson administration . Nixon was frantic about peace "breaking out" before the '68 election and used Kissingers information to derail the peace negotiations. Kissingers reward was to lead Nixons NSC. Strangely enough, peace didn't break out after the election, instead intermittent and brutal bombing of North and South Vietnam, Laos, and later the so called "Secret Bombing" of Cambodia. Other area/events covered include the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT), Chinese and Soviet negotiations and treaties. The India/Pakistan War of 1971 in which the U.S. tilted towards West Pakistan who were then involved in a murderous campaign in East Pakistan that resulted in between one and three million dead and the state of Bangladesh declaring its independence. The Middle East also appears and the Kissinger policy of leaving Sadat and his peace proposals out in the cold is examined, this misguided policy clearly played a part in the lead up to the October 73 war. Hersh marshals the information with regard to all those events, and others, and puts together a detailed picture of what happened. It is rarely pretty and Hersh, unlike his protagonist and his boss, bears in mind the cost in death and destruction. The details on how the Nixon administration functioned (or didn't function) are a constant source of revelation: the Joint Chiefs spying on the NSC & Whitehouse, Kissingers spinning, the tapping of NSC staff and others telephones, Nixons drunken rages, Kissingers relationship with Alexander Haig, J.Edgar Hoover and Tricky Dicky himself. . . the list is practically endless. Recommended reading for those interested in International History in general, and the U.S. foreign policy in particular during the first Nixon administration - it does focus on the "big" events though and shouldnt be regarded as being comprehensive on U.S. foreign policy for that period. The book was written in 1983 so I don't doubt that their has been an increase in the amount known about this period, but from my recollections of reading say The Trial of Henry Kissinger or The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon this account is still broadly correct. Some may find the sheer amount of detail a little off putting, in particular the SALT negotiations, but it is still a readable and fascinating book.

• I am a great admirer of Hersh and his great contribution to American journalism. But this is a deep dive into the minutia and detail of the dysfunctional and paranoid Nixon White House, and despite the horrific outcomes of their actions, we're stuck in the offices, documents and petty tyrannies of Kissinger and his endless high school dramas. I've read many accounts of the period and have a grasp of the period's events. I wanted to love it, but it became a burden to turn the page.

• This is a fantastic book to read now, since it mirrors a lot of what is going on in the Obama Administration in the current day. Obama has been accused of being a communist and a socialist, and certainly there is plenty to support those accusations; but it seems that Nixon was indeed a leader that Obama has studied well too. His version of 21st Century fascism is much worse than anything Nixon pulled frankly. Hersh takes us through the past and the years of Nixon and Watergate. It should be noted that Hersh has an ax to grind, is a liberal thinker and write, and his bias is strong throughout the book. Still, the facts--very carefully annotated by the author--leave no doubt that Nixon and Kissinger both were despicable. I am a conservative and lifelong Republican, but I winced many times over as I read things I never know and/or didn't believe when I heard them years ago. The petty selfishness of educated grown men in positions of power only proves the adages that 'power corrupts' and 'absolute power corrupts absolutely.' It seems a total shame that in the 40+ years since these events took place, we Americans have learned little about the corruption and power politics by both parties, and reinforces my belief that TERM LIMITS for ALL elected officials is an absolute if we are to save our republic from ruin by greedy, mean spirited and over bearing fuss pots and LIARS. Thank you Mr. Hersh for all the work you did on this fantastic volume of the 37th President and his #1 toady.

• Worth it!!!

• Of course, this has been reviewed and reviewed since its publication. I would only add, this is a must for those who want to understand the backline of the Nixon White House and its disastrous, genocidal, and criminal foreign policy. Kissinger comes off as a smart ass who simply wants to prove over and over again he is of supreme importance. He manipulates both the Democrats and the Republicans in the 1968 election, playing both sides will undermining the Dems. He does this, one learns, merely to prove he can. His background as a spook in post-war Europe serves him well. He is completely and astonishingly untrustworthy and unprincipled. This book is indictment of one of America's true war criminals and one that should have been dragged before the Hague, at least, long ago. The fact that he has escaped is more a testament to how evil and cunning he truely is, not a demonstration of innocence.

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