Let me say right at the start: I loved this book. It is well written, insightful, and balanced. The book takes a different approach to a biography — I guess we might call it a dual-biography. Two men, both central to America’s battle of the Cold War, are on opposite sides of how to combat that war, but are also deep and personal friends. The author weaves their stories together, sometimes apart, as he explores their decisions and philosophy behind those decisions.

And these were not two ordinary men. I won’t get into it here, but here are Wikipedia links to Paul Nitze and George Kennan. Together, they were the men who shaped and formed America’s response to the threat of Soviet expansion, nuclear war, and and at times covert operations around the world. They were advisors to virtually every President since FDR. Nitze, the hawk, and Kennan, the dove, were widely respected and had a deep admiration for each other.

What I love about this book is not only the history that these men shaped (much of which I lived through and can remember), but primarily how the author treats the men with deep respect. Both men made dramatic and even ridiculous mistakes, yet the book is not a character assassination. It treats them with respect, honoring the fact that two men who worked in such high pressure and difficult times were bound to make some mistakes. It’s forgiving in that despite their weaknesses, they are honored for their success. We need more of that in our world; we tend to tear people down for making a few mistakes and forgetting all the contributions they made to the world.

I also love how the author lets the Nitze and Kennan be more than two dimensional ideologues. Nitze, the hawk, was one of the first to put a Jimmy Carter bumper sticker on his car. He clashed continually with Henry Kissinger, and tried his best to keep the US out of Vietnam. Not exactly what you’d expect from a hawk. Kennan, the dove, made his mark when as a foreign service officer in Moscow at the end of World War II, he called for a US response to the growing threat of the Soviets. Stalin kicked him out of the country. Kennan advocated for covert operations (approving of the CIA influence on the Italian elections in the late 1940’s). Hardly a pushover dove.

This is the kind of full development of the human personality that makes history books compelling. It’s deeper and more meaningful than the thin cartoon character descriptions we get on the news. People are complicated, with ideas and opinions that are often in conflict with our stereotypes. This book fully explores that. And it is wonderful.