Kissinger: Age 99 & a New Book

By Shlomo Maital

The Young Kissinger

    Kudos to Henry Kissinger.  Next May 23 he will be 100 years old.  And his mind is still active and bright, and he is still writing books. His latest is:

    Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy. 

Kissinger analyzes six world leaders, whom he has known personally:

Conrad Adenauer, who brought Germany back into the community of nations by what Kissinger calls “the strategy of humility” (admit transgressions, work to try to make amends);  Charles de Gaulle (“the strategy of will”), Richard Nixon (“the strategy of equilibrium”),  Egypt’s Anwar Sadat (“strategy of transcendence”),  Singapore’s founding President Lee Kwan Yew  (“strategy of excellence”); and Margaret Thatcher (“strategy of conviction”).

      That’s it.  humility, will, equilibrium, transcendence, excellence, conviction.  I think those are the parameters against which we can judge modern leaders.  HEWECT. 

     Thinking about today’s leaders:  Do any have even one or two of those quality strategies?   Kissinger does not say so. But it emerges clearly from his book.

    Well done, Henry.  And – your next book?