With his JFK biography, "An Unfinished Life," Dallek cemented a reputation as a great historian. Now he offers a portrait of a pair of leaders who dominated the world stage, changing the course of history.
Decades after working side-by-side in the White House, Richard Nixon & Henry Kissinger remain two of the most contradictory & powerful men in America in the 20th century. While their personalities could hardly have been more different, they were magnetically drawn together. Both were ambitious, self-made men, driven by their own inner demons, often ruthless in pursuit of their goals. At the height of power, their rivalry & collaboration led to policies defining the Nixon presidency.
Utilizing declassified archives, Dallek uncovers details about their personal relationship & how they struggled to outdo each other in foreign affairs. He also analyzes their dealings with power brokers at home & abroad--including Vietnam, the China opening, detente with the USSR, the Yom Kippur War, Allende's overthrow & war between India & Pakistan--while recognizing how both men plotted to distract the public from scandal. He details Nixon's erratic behavior during Watergate & how Kissinger helped use national security to prevent impeachment.
1 Brethren of a kind
Nixon
Kissinger
1968
2 The limits of power
The Nixon-Kissinger White House
Hope & illusion
The politics of foreign policy
Troubles galore
Crisis managers
Winter of discontent
3 The best of times
The road to détente
Détente in Asia: gains & losses
The warriors as peacemakers
Tainted victories
4 The worst of times
New miseries
In the shadow of Watergate
The Nixon-Kissinger presidency
The end of a presidency
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