A review by jimmacsyr
George F. Kennan: An American Life by John Lewis Gaddis

5.0

As an audio book, I had little idea how long this book is until I started downloading it. Once going through some of the chapter titles, some in yearly increments, I prepared for the trusty fast forward. This planned event was not needed (well maybe the first few chapters could have been condensed). . Great book. Really fascinating description of the Cold War development. Although not a conservative, I found the section on Reagan really enlightening. It seems Reagan was more nuanced in his foreign policy than I thought. Incredible career spanning the entire Cold War, and it does a nice job of contrasting containment from MAD. The repeated discussion of the need, and negatives, of NATO was fascinating as well.

I think the author does a good job of trying to balance the incredible talents with some of the complimentary flaws that Kennan possesed.

Again, excellent book and good review of the Cold War as seen in a US-USSR context. Some discussions do get short changed. For example, Vietnam is discussed only as it relates to the US-Soviet relationship, and even then very briefly.