Suchergebnisse

A review essay on books by (1) William Bundy, A Tangled Web: The Making of Foreign Policy in the Nixon Presidency (New York: Hill & Wang, 1998); (2) William Burr (Ed), The Kissinger Transcripts: The Top Secret Talks with Beijing and Moscow (New York: New Press, 1999); (3) John H. Holdridge, Crossing the Divide: An Insider's Account of the Normalization of U.S.-China Relations (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997); (4) James Mann, About Face: A History of America's Curious Relationship with China, from Nixon to Clinton (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999); & (5) Christian F. Ostermann (Ed), Cold War International History Project Bulletin (Washington: Woodrow Wilson International Center Scholars, 1998, 11, winter). Although the editorial comments that accompany the transcripts of Henry Kissinger's visits to the People's Republic of China are highly critical of Nixon & Kissinger's covert actions, Burr's work provides a valuable perspective on US foreign policy. Bundy's book relies heavily on Kissinger's memoirs to claim that neither Nixon nor Kissinger originally gave relations with China a high priority, & their later efforts were more an attempt to worry the Soviets than astute diplomacy. Holdridge's account of Sino-American relations since 1949 offers tantalizing vignettes & juicy anecdotes from a diplomat's diary but few significant insights, while Mann's journalistic account suggests errors made by Nixon & Kissinger significantly influenced the post-1989 deterioration of relations with China. The potential impact of recently revealed primary sources related to Sino-American relations is explored. J. Lindroth

My Town: Writers on American Cities features 12 American authors describing how the U.S. cities where they live contribute to their creativity. Pete Hamill offers a touching reminiscence of growing up in New York, Washington Post critic Jonathan Yardley introduces the reader to his hometown of Baltimore, and best-selling author Jonathan Kellerman describes "the sprawling, inchoate alternative-universe" that is Los Angeles. Also featured are portraits of Boston, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis, Miami, and Washington, D.C.