Henry Kissinger

'Jérémie Gallon's reexamination of Kissinger's life and personality provides vital lessons for twenty-first century Europe' Michel Barnier, former French Prime Minister Jérémie Gallon paints an intriguing portrait of the 'master of Realpolitik', drawing lessons from Henry Kissinger's life and actions to explore the creation of a more coherent and resilient foreign policy, particularly in Europe. Chapters address themes, moments, and characters that shaped Kissinger's career, such as the Harvard years, the centrality of Realpolitik, Jewishness, even football, and his relationships with figures such as Nelson Rockefeller, Richard Nixon, Anwar Sadat, and Zhou Enlai - not to mention his mother Paula. This new English edition includes an additional chapter detailing the author's meeting with Kissinger in Connecticut ten days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Gallon is as interested in the statesman as he is in the man himself, delving into the more glamorous and intimate aspects of his life, yet making no secret of Kissinger's contradictions and the moral accusations levelled against him.

Jérémie Gallon is a foreign policy analyst and former EU diplomat who contributes regularly to international media, including The Financial Times, Politico, and L'Express. He is a non-resident senior fellow in the Atlantic Council and was an adjunct professor in international affairs at Sciences Po (Paris Institute of Political Studies). His other books include Diary of a Young Diplomat in Trump's America (Gallimard, 2018) and Georges Pompidou: A Timeless Figure (Gallimard, 2025). The original French edition of this book (Henry Kissinger, L'Européen, Gallimard 2021) won the 2022 Prix Eugène-Colas awarded by the Académie Française.