The trial of Henry Kissinger

The explosive treatise from recently deceased journalist, author, and provocateur Hitchens-originally published in 2001 and then again in 2012-offers a no-holds-barred indictment of veteran Washington diplomat and power broker Henry Kissinger for a host of crimes related to covert military activity, the suppression of democracy, and the violation of human rights. Simon Prebble narrates in a dialect similar to that of fellow Englishman Hitchens, while also capturing the distinct tone of erudite rebellion that the author cultivated in the media spotlight. Of course, the personal vendetta that fuels the narrative may be impossible for any speaker other than Hitchens to fully convey, but Prebble rises to the occasion to the greatest extent possible. Prebble does an especially effective job of portraying Kissinger in the quotes and anecdotes featured in the text, tackling his vocal mannerisms and public persona without descending into caricature. A Twelve paperback. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Is former secretary of state and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kissinger a war criminal? Hitchens, a journalist (the Nation, Vanity Fair) and author (Hostage to History: Cyprus from the Ottomans to Kissinger), believes that Kissinger committed crimes around the world, from Cambodia to Bangladesh to Chile. With the recent detention of Chile's August Pinochet and the international interest in prosecuting Serbia's Slobodan Milosevic, Hitchens theorizes that the era of "sovereign immunity" for state crimes has ended. He would limit Kissinger's prosecution to "offenses that might or should form the basis of a legal prosecution: for war crimes, for crimes against humanity and for offenses against common or customary or international law." Hitchens relies on congressional hearing testimony, transcripts of the infamous Nixon tapes, and the memoirs and papers of Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administration officials to support his case against Kissinger. Although there is limited attribution of the quoted and referenced documentation, the substance of the material makes an intriguing case. Recommended for political science and international relations collections. Jill Ortner, SUNY at Buffalo Libs. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.