Reviews for The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War

The average rating for The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2021-01-15 00:00:00 Robert Nadeau "Paul Nitze and George Kennan were the only two people to be deeply involved in American foreign policy from the outset of the Cold War until its end. They had come to prominence in the tumultuous days that followed the Second World War when Germany was divided and the Soviet Union turned from ally into enemy. They immersed themselves in the great questions and events to come: The Marshall Plan, Korea, the ever more dangerous arms race, Vietnam détente, SALT, glasnost. They stepped off stage only when Germany reunited and the Soviet Union dissolved." -Nicholas Thompson, THE HAWK AND THE DOVE: PAUL NITZE, GEORGE KENNAN AND THE HISTORY OF THE COLD WAR page 2-3 Paul Nitze, and George Kennan were almost polar opposites when it came to foreign policy. Kennan pushed for what he coined "containment" in his famous 1940 "X" article, containment being a way to stop the spread of Soviet influence in Europe and the rest of the world and to peacefully dispose of nuclear weapons. Nitze on the other hand was a voice promoting United States strength when it came to dealing with the Soviet Union. In 1950, during his time in the United States Department's Policy Planning Office, he published a 66 page report titled NSC 68. NSC 68 pushed for raising U.S. military and defense spending, upping support of U.S. allies, increasing the nuclear arsenal, as well as moving forward with the creation of the hydrogen bomb, which was given presidential approval by Harry Truman on January 31, 1950. During the duration of the Cold War, Paul Nitze and George Kennan carried on an odd kind of friendship. Both being on the opposite sides of most arguments, they had a way of stepping beyond politics to see the genius of the other person. They had a strong mutual respect for each other. Kennan was the thinker, and the dreamer, where as Nitze was a man of action, pushing to get the things started that he wanted to see the most take place. Kennan did also initiate a lot of what he wanted to see change, although he spent an even larger majority of his time in the philosophical realm. THE HAWK AND THE DOVE is not a biography per-se of these two men. It does, however, spend a few chapters looking back at the childhoods of both Kennan and Nitze, as well as peering in a bit on some of the biggest/most critical moments of their early lives. I have previously read a George Kennan biography, but this is the first I have read on Paul Nitze, and I already feel as though I have a decent grasp on the man and his career. I really enjoyed this book. It is engaging, and thoroughly detailed for its size, the book being a bit shorter, coming in right at 318 pages (before the notes and bibliography.) I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants a better understanding of the Cold War, as well as two of its key U.S. policy makers and the decisions that they made. Five stars.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-02-05 00:00:00 Charles Martin The Hawk and the Dove was a subject that interested me--the Cold War and George Kennan whom I always liked. I had negative view of Paul Nitze and looked forward to the contrast between him and Kennan. The book was much more complex than the title would suggest. It's an excellent history. Because Baker is Nitze's grandson, he had access to papers who one else had seen. Some from family sources. Then, at the end of the book, Baker recounts going to visit the school Nitze founded (Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins) on a Saturday. He mentioned Nitze's papers to a janitor and the janitor said "Follow me." He expected to be taken to the 6th floor where the papers were stored, but they got off on the 4th floor where the janitor showed him a store of about 50 old dusty boxes in a closet. They were indeed Nitze papers which evidently no one else but the janitor knew about. Thompson presents both Nitze and Kennas as extremely complex people who responded differently sometimes and the same sometimes to current issues. Kennan was the intellectual; Nitze, the man of action, both obviously extremely intelligent and totally dedicated to service to their country. They were within a couple of years of each other in age and both lived approximately 100 years, Nitze a bit less and Kennan lived to be 101! Anyone with interest in the Cold War shouldn't miss this book.