Zbig: The Strategy and Statecraft of Zbigniew Brzezinski - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1421419807 ISBN 13: 9781421419800

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016

Synopsis

Zbigniew Brzezinski’s multifaceted career dealing with U.S. security and foreign policy has led him from the halls of academia to multiple terms in public service, including a stint as President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor from 1977 to 1981. He is a renowned policy analyst and author who frequently appears as a commentator on popular talk shows, and his strategic vision continues to carry a great deal of gravitas.

in Zbig, Charles Gati has enlisted many of the top foreign policy players of the past thirty years to reflect on and analyze Brzezinski and his work. A senior scholar in Eastern European and Russian studies, Gati observed firsthand much of the history and politics surrounding Brzezinski’s career. His vibrant introduction and concluding interview with Brzezinski frame this critical assessment of a major statesman’s accomplishments.

Contributors: Justin Vaļsse, David C. Engerman, Mark Kramer, David J. Rothkopf, Warren I. Cohen and Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, Robert A. Pastor, William B. Quandt, Robert Hunter, James Thomson, Patrick Vaughan, Marin Strmecki, James Mann, David Ignatius, Adam Garfinkle, Stephen F. Szabo, Francis Fukuyama, Charles Gati

About this title

Review:

"A highly readable volume of reflections on the legendary Cold Warrior by academics, journalists and Brzezinski's colleagues that nonetheless avoids the dryness of a classical academic tract... A welcome addition to the field of political science, simultaneously being a portrait of a complex, intellectually rigorous, and self-confident Polish-American academic and national security advisor in the Carter administration, as well as a reflection upon American foreign policy in the post-war era."

(New Eastern Europe)

"Zbig is an informative and challenging introduction to Zbigniew Brzezinski... For armchair enthusiasts and those struggling to unravel the complicated issues of international affairs and foreign policy, Zbig is a good place to start."

(New York Journal of Books)

"This biography tells us a lot not just about Zbig but about America’s own checkered history in Brzezinski’s lifetime."

(Campaign for the American Reader)

"Will fill a gap on Brzezinski in serious political science collections."

(Library Journal)

"Captures his extraordinary insights into international politics as well as his commitment to a morally inspired political realism. It will be read with great satisfaction... The editor and the contributors ought to be commended for their superb accomplishment."

(International Affairs)

"Part biography, personal reflection, history, and policy analysis, this expertly compiled book provides a fascinating insight into the private and public worlds of one of the foremost architects of American foreign policy in the twentieth century, and indeed today... This is no small achievement, as the book is easily one of the best retrospectives of a public figure in recent years... Gati's lengthy and detailed interview with Brzezinski (a recollection of sorts) permits the reader the direct insight of the man himself following the various accounts of the contributors. It's an exceptional feature in what otherwise would still have been a first-rate profile... The book is easy to return to, and hard to put down... Skillfully edited, relentlessly referenced, and well composed, this should be essential reading for any observer (academic or otherwise) of American politics and foreign policy."

(Russian Review)

"Zbig: The Strategy and Statecraft of Zbigniew Brzezinski is a valuable contribution to the field of U.S. foreign policy history since 1945 because of Zbig the intellectual, the policy-maker, and the commentator... Brzezinski's role as a Cold War scholar and intellectual, the descriptions of how it was to work (and study) under him, and his elder statesmanship as delineated in Zbig add to the study of not only Zbig himself but U.S. foreign relations in general."

(Benedict von Bremen Sehepunkte)

"Charles Gati has produced a valuable, informative book that examines the many facets of Brzezinski's life and works and seeks to place the man, his era, and his writings within the broader context of the United States, along with its adversaries and partners, adapting to a changing world."

(Journal of Cold War Studies)

"Dozens of books have been written about Henry Kissinger, America's master diplomat during the cold war. Until now, none has appeared in English about Kissinger's great rival and sparring partner, Zbigniew Brzezinski... [Zbig is] long overdue."

(Financial Times)

"There is no sharper, clearer, more strategic thinker alive today than Zbig Brzezinski. This fascinating book brings that label to life, adding color, depth, personality and values to his incisive mind. It is history, biography, and very nearly a how-to book on thinking strategically."

(Jessica Tuchman Mathews, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)

Book Description:

The first comprehensive account of Zbigniew Brzezinski's complementary roles as author, academic, policy maker, and critic.

About this edition

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1421419807
• ISBN 13: 9781421419800
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 280
• Editor: Gati Charles