"George Kennan was the great architect of the Cold War strategy of containment, but in later years he became one of its most vociferous critics. John Lewis Gaddis, perhaps the Cold War's greatest living historian, explains this remarkable journey in fascinating detail, reckoning brilliantly with the life and meaning of one of the great thinkers and characters of our age and, indeed , of the history of American diplomacy. For all who struggle to achieve some larger perspective on world events, the example of George Kennan, in John Lewis Gaddis's hands, makes for inspiring and engrossing reading." --(Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, USAF (Ret.); former National Security Advisor; and President of The Scowcroft Group)

"When a great historian writes about a great man, the result is bound to be outstanding. This book exceeds even that high expectation." --(George P. Shultz, author of Turmoil and Triumph: My Years as Secretary of State; former U.S. Secretary of State; Distinguished Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University)

"In this magisterial and authorized work, based on complete access to private diaries and papers, Professor Gaddis gives us a deeply personal look at George Kennan and shows how his personality, philosophy and policy ideas wove together. The result is the definitive biography of one of the most influential and fascinating foreign policy thinkers of the 20th century—a triumph of both scholarship and narrative writing."--( Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein and Benjamin Franklin; President and CEO of The Aspen Institute)