Three decades after he left office, Henry Kissinger con- tinues to exert a fascinating hold on the public imagination as well as intel- lectual sway over the nation's foreign policy conversation. The longevity of his influence-and of his celebrity-is greater than that of any other states- man in modern times. He remains the most prominent foreign policy in- tellectual in the world, his advice sought by corporate and political leaders, his rumbling voice a regular on the airwaves, his byline stamping frequent analytic essays.

Partly this prolonged prominence is due, as even his detractors concede, to the power of his intellect. Nowadays, policy discussion too often tends to be polarized, partisan, and propelled by the type of talking points that work well on cable TV shows. Even people who disagree with Kissinger tend to be impressed by the rigor, nuance, depth, and unsentimental sharpness of his arguments. His writings and pronouncements combine historical ax- ioms with timely insights to produce the same mixture of sweep and speci- ficity that distinguished his memoirs.