As one of the foremost Henry Kissinger historians nation-wide, UW-Madison history professor Jeremi Suri is privileged with extensive access to archival materials and has even had six or seven meetings with the man himself'two resources few historians have at their disposal.
Still, Suri maintains he is 'thrilled and shocked' by these fortunes, though he had his doubts; he told University Communications his first thought was, 'Which one of my colleagues is pulling my leg'?
After a book Suri published in 2003 entitled 'Power and Protest: Global Revolution and the Rise of D??tente' painted a supposedly 'unflattering' portrait of Kissinger's d??tente policies, the former United States National Security Adviser and secretary of state (1969 to 1977)'arguably one of the most influential foreign policy advisers of the 20th century'requested a meeting with Suri to discuss the book and its broader implications.
The pair met again in Fuerth, Germany, Kissinger's hometown, while Suri was doing research for another book that is currently in progress on Kissinger's past.
'We met and talked to the local media in a press conference,' Suri said. 'It was a nice surprise to just coincidentally meet up there.'
Several meetings and a resulting book deal later, Suri is on his way to publishing one of the first books to examine Kissinger's life and policies in an exploratory and intimate manner.
The biography, which is being researched from primary and secondary materials, as well as influenced by Suri's personal discussions with Kissinger, will be published in 2007.
Suri said that rather than a chronological or topical organization, the book will be organized according to Kissinger's life experiences to create both a sequential and issue-oriented flow, while correlating Kissinger's life experiences and reactions to certain political issues.
Suri stressed that the book will not be written from a domestic point of view, but rather will focus on Kissinger's international dealings and policies.
'So, when he experienced Vietnam,' Suri explained, 'I will write about that from both his personal and international points of view.'
He also added that he plans to address Kissinger's heritage in the biography, a detail not often mentioned in other written accounts of his life.
'One of the experiences I know I'm going to touch on is his experience growing up German-Jewish,' Suri said. 'It's something he doesn't like to talk about in public but which came up very often in my research of his archives and in our own personal conversations.'
The former secretary of state and his parents fled Nazi Germany when he was 15, Suri said, and Kissinger then struggled to become connected with American society.
Suri also said Kissinger's personality is reflective of his political experiences.
'He's a very charismatic, but also very self-assured person,' he said. 'He's a great debater, and we would sit down and have conversations and debate, and if he thought I was wrong, he most certainly would tell me I was wrong.'
Yet, instead of fretting over past policy decisions, Kissinger worries a great deal about his political reputation and image, according to Suri.
'There is no possibility of retirement or relaxation for him, because he's never achieved enough, he's never secure,' Suri told University Communications.
'He's very image-conscious,' Suri said. 'He's a complex person who is determined always to be right.'
