The Kissinger Tapes: Inside His Secretly Recorded Phone Conversations

A richly detailed collection of transcripts of Henry Kissinger's secretly recorded phone conversations from his time in the Nixon administration that touch on every important issue of Kissinger's day and provide a sweeping view of his era.

Henry Kissinger is one of the most consequential foreign policy makers in American history. A remarkably influential academic during his long tenure at Harvard, Kissinger became Richard Nixon's National Security Advisor in 1969 and Secretary of State in 1973. Like Nixon, Kissinger left a trail of secretly recorded evidence in his wake. Kissinger began taping in 1969, two years before Nixon did in 1971, and he continued taping for over three years after Nixon's recording system was dismantled in 1973. In The Kissinger Tapes, Tom Wells draws on his expertise in the Nixon era to provide carefully selected transcripts of Kissinger's phone conversations, which chronologically highlight the most momentous crises and controversies of the era. They not only provide context and many revelations on Kissinger's role in numerous events, but also throw his personality, character, and checkered record into sharp relief.

The conversations reveal Kissinger's opinions and attitudes on important policy matters, his complex relationship with President Nixon, the many battles he fought with other administration officials, and his subtle manipulations of well-known journalists. This richly detailed audiobook provides a window into the Nixon administration and offers a unique perspective on one of the most important figures in modern American history.