Reviews for Kennedy And Macmillan

The average rating for Kennedy And Macmillan based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-12-12 00:00:00 Joshua Smith All in all this is an interesting book and recommendable, especially to anyone with a passing interest in Germany or German politics. It's fairly well written, although honestly the main thing the author has on his side is the fact that his subject, Joschka Fischer, is such a compelling, fascinating individual. I certainly buy Hockenos' core thesis, which is that Fischer is a good lens through which to view the maturation of post-War Germany toward a more democratic, pluralistic society. His account of the way in which the early German Green Party of the late 70s and 80s brought together a hodge-podge of different reform groups, from anti-nuclear protesters to former anarchists like Fischer, is quite good, as is his account for how the pragmatic realo wing of the party (which Fischer led) routed the more hardline fundis. And although it's fairly clear to the reader that the author is sympathetic to Fischer and the Greens, I appreciate that he at least acknowledged the critique of Fischer as a somewhat egotistical individual with a penchant for alienating friends and partners, e.g., his string of failed marriages. In terms of the book's weaker points, I think the author could have addressed more directly the question of whether Fischer's emergence as a "rock star" within the Greens ultimately helped or hurted the party in the long run, in part because his pragmatic approach to politics meant compromising on a number of core Greens issues, from military intervention to nuclear power, which ultimately opened the part to erosion from the left. Anyway, an enjoyable book overall. 4 stars out of 5.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-08-17 00:00:00 John Smith This was fantastic book. I'm an author currently working on a project about the world's Green parties, and this is by far the most accessible AND detailed account of the German Green Party's time in the federal government in English, and also a wonderfully interesting look at post-war German politics in general. I'd highly recommend it. It'll need a new edition sometime soon though, and the author repeatedly makes note of how "there has never been a far-right political party elected to the federal German parliament" which as of 2017 is unfortunately no longer true. So it's slightly dated, but it didn't detract from the enjoyment and quality of information within.