The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made

As someone who is to the right politically than the authors I was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I felt as though the authors missed the boat with Reagan and his relationship to the soviets, thankfully it was a very small part of the overall book. The authors suffered from a 1980s liberal anathema of all things Reagan and history proved them wrong about the efficacy of his policies. The antipathy towards Reagan has the authors offering up an almost naive view of the Soviets and it was my only issue with the book. Common sense AND HISTORY proves my point and is shown by the benign attitude the authors have towards Yuri Andropov, a former KGB head and a serious problem regarding freedom for people in Eastern Europe, and for the world. Having said my piece above I still give the book 5 stars due to how much I loved how the authors gave us the feel of the times and how our six heroes dealt with all of it's issues and crises. Being a Dean Acheson fan I found his part of the book fascinating and it just reinforced all of my prior thoughts about this giant of the 20th century. I feel as if there should be a movie made of Acheson as a way to introduce him to today's students and others...but I know it will never happen. Anyone who doesn't know Dean Acheson should read some books by or about him. Being a fan of the time period I of course was familiar with Averell Harriman, but I wasn't aware of exactly what a giant of the times he was. As the book progressed I found myself thinking that he was an opportunist, a man that wanted "it" to be all about him, but as the book progressed I came to respect him more and more. This is especially true when he did not get his coveted Secretary of State position and yet never tried to torpedo Acheson, who did get the job. This is so unlike today and that is a shame. Harriman kept on and kept on and I found him also fascinating. His desire for diplomatic means of solving problems was legendary. I found Chip Bohlen to be totally enjoyable, cool and as "hip" as anyone from today...he came across as timeless. The picture of him and JFK driving down the street, Kennedy with his shades on and at the wheel showed the man perfectly. Robert Lovett as someone I had never heard of and yet he was also a huge force during momentous times. Almost as rich as Harriman, but not nearly as stuffy, his part was a great part of the book as well. As someone who followed foreign affairs a bit I was very familiar with George F, Kennan (Mr. X) but I was surprised by his being so sensitive with regard to being insecure. A great mind and perfect for the early cold war period. John McCloy was someone who is so underrated when discussing historic people of the second half of the 20th century. He combined public and private service that could (and should) never be allowed today, but his contribution was huge and very positive and that is why so many presidents called on him for assistance. Anyone who is interested in WWII, the Cold War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War should read this book. Anyone interested in high society in the 20s thru the 80s should read this book. It was a different time, but we would not be us without how well our country handled events and how these man contributed to the world.

There are politicians, and then there are the diplomats , advisors and experts and so many others that advise on and implement policies and decisions. History needs to record the service of these people if only provide a goal or measurement for the future. These men served over a forty year period that included world war, the atomic bomb, the State of Israel, the Korean war, The Viet Nam war and the cold war. They served under presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. This is an important book. It is well written. Every American citizen needs a better understanding of how our government works. This highly readable book would be a good place to start.

This was a fascinating and well-written book about six men that are probably unknown to today's general public but shaped US Foreign Policy from post WWI through Vietnam. Their lives moved through the 20th century intertwined via elite prep schools, Yale/Harvard, investment banking firms, law firms, high level cabinet roles and foreign policy posts. Their advice to the Presidents resulted in tragic wars - some right and some wrong, the strategies that prevented nuclear annihilation but also may have resulted in elongating the Cold War. Isaacson and Thomas also provide a multi-sided view into each one's personality but especially Dean Acheson, George Kennan and Averill Harriman. We see their strengths of brilliance, integrity and deep patriotism but also their weaknesses. Kennan was overly sensitive, conducive to self-pity and had a tendency for literary flair and verbosity. Harriman became more self interested after WWII and sometimes placed politics over diplomacy. Acheson's persona came across as elitist, condescending and pompous which turned away many liberals, moderates and conservatives even when they agreed with his views. The right schools, the right families and the right wealth played a large role in giving these six men the opportunity to shape the century. One can argue if that tradition has continued today or not. What may be different is that their vision and actions seemed to be more defined by pragmatism rather than ideology. The results are not always what we wanted but far better than the foes they battled that placed ideology over pragmatism.

This is an excellent book by Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas, two very good authors. The United States was very fortunate for the intelligence, creativity, patriotism, determination, ethics, and efforts of the six men who are the book's subjects. We Americans benefited from having them doing their best in a wide variety of critically important international affairs. Born at the outbreak of World War II, I remember their names in the news from about 1949 onward. When the U.S. was in a tight spot one or more of these men were called to counsel the President, Secretaries of State or Defense and others in the government hierarchy or to act on their behalf with other Heads of State such as Stalin or Churchill. The book is both a history and a biography. The reader learns about the lives of each of the six from their prep school days on so we get an inkling of what basic values were inculcated into them and we see that these values molded their character and their lives. In the course of things we also get a unique view of every President from Roosevelt to Johnson, and several others such as Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. This book has a cast of scores of fascinating people involved in scores of events over scores of years! A great book! Originally published in 1986, it was re-issued in 2012 with an new preface by the authors.

The stories of six men who "had more to do with the Marshall Plan than General Marshall' and "more to do with the Truman Doctrine than President Truman" are told with the fascinating details left in. In the case of these individuals that amounts to mountains of curious details that Evan Thomas and Walter Isaacson extracted from the historical record. The authors serve up a six pack of biographies: Dean Acheson, Averell Harriman, George Kennan, Chip Bohlen, John McCloy and Robert Lovett. Behind-the-scenes revelations engage the reader page after page. I could not put it down, frankly. Anyone interested in World War II, the Korean conflict, the Cold War, Vietnam and the fateful decisions that "the establishment' made regarding each of these epic events will get a fuller brain from perusing the pages. The best part about it, I think, is that the history lessons are learned by virtual osmosis for the remarkable stories of these men and their actions (along with those of the Presidents they served) simply pulls the reader along. A white-water rafting trip through American history. Terrific book.

This is so well written on a topic I have read many books about I might even read Issacson's Steve Jobs book which I am not much interested in.This follows 6 men- two foreign service intellectuals/diplomats,two lawyers,and two bankers (though these hast seemed in this age to be quite mutable and interchangeable) who served as ambassadors,diplomats,councilors book takes the view of Barbara Tuchman who said that to understand a society (in her case medieval history in "Distant Mirror" that you don't get "the real dope" by looking at the peasant or the king but to the middle level,to the prince to see what goes on.And though one might read David McCullough's excellent Truman biography to ones about Ike of the excellent reporting or David Hablberstam's "The Best and The Brightest" these were the prices who were six of the most important architects of the cold war policy and containment which shaped the Wests foreign policy through the 20th century.One of the most enjoyable and best telling of this history

As happens frequently in biographies, the authors fell in love with their subjects; praise for the 6 main members of the Cold War "Establishment" far outweighs criticism. Averell Harriman and Dean Acheson get the most thorough attention among the 6 subjects, and rightfully so. I took away one star because the authors largely see the foreign policies of Republican presidents Ike, Nixon and Reagan through the eyes of the Wise Men, instead of objectively. Only when Nixon "comes to his senses" and asks Acheson and Harriman for advice does he receive some praise. Ike's foreign policy era is portrayed as one to be endured until the Wise Men are allowed back in the inner circle under JFK. Their total disdain for Reagan is clear; no mention of the reasons for end of the Cold War and Reagan's active part in it. However, the 5-star section of the book is clearly the LBJ-Vietnam era. Wow, they really can't stand LBJ as a human being and politician, but his (and the Wise Men's) agony over the Vietnam war is written about almost lyrically. The authors convey the complicated global factors of the war in an admirable, even-handed, almost sympathetic way.

The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made with a new introduction by the authors Six American boys who were childhood friends, and who held few public offices, came, through their individual and collective efforts, to simply design, during and just after World Ware II, the whole world as we know it today. Yes, these six men really did design the whole world, the whole world that we know, the whole world. The six men, Dean Acheson, Charles Bohlen, Averell Harriman, George Kennan, Robert Lovett and John McCloy really did design the whole world. Their personal lives were intertwined from their childhoods and schooldays, and from their early careers on Wall Street and in government jobs. By breeding and training these six men, and a few of their close colleagues, knew that America would have to assume the burden of a global role. Out of duty and out of desire, and probably out of divine inspiration, they heeded their own individual calls to public service. These six were the original "best and brightest" of twentieth-century men. Their outsized personalities, and forceful actions, brought order to the post-war chaos and left a legacy that dominates the way the world works to this very day. The book is masterfully written by Walter Isaacson, now of Time magazine, and Evan Thomas, currently Assistant Managing Editor at Newsweek. The authors bring the hundreds of world defining moments into clear focus and illustrate how effective six citizens can be. We can all follow their examples of how to lead, in the most personal way, our own lives The book very easily readable and I just could not put it down until I had finished it. The book can take you on an exciting ride through the myriad events that created the world we live in today. The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made with a new introduction by the authors

Tolles, interessantes Buch.

A good walkthrough recent American history

Book in bad condition yellow pages and old

An amazing history of the selfless men who helped guide the US through two world wars and other wars. I found this book to be both entertaining and informative. Well done to both authors! Sad to see the state of the US today.

Average