Kissinger - On China

RJ

Hey Phil,

Thanks. I have been debating whether to buy the book or not. Kissinger can be so boring at times, but on the other hand, he should know things nobody else was privy to. I heard him interviewed about the book on the radio and I still wasnt sure. He sounds terrible. And.... any friend of Nixon is well, questionable. hehe. Let me know if you still feel that way in a couple more chapters and I will push the amazon button. It has been sitting in my shopping cart for some time now. Or maybe I should also check out the local library. Nobody around here will take the book out. Should be easy to find.

archieoo7

我有这本书的pdf的版本，建议你可以网上下载电子版本的看看，再决定要不要买 （PS：外国为了保护版权，网上下载电子书是犯法的吗？）

I have this e-book of Kissinger's On China,downloaded from internet.May be you can download the book from internet and decide whether to buy or not (I do not know if it is illegal to download the book from internet in foreign counties)

bodawei

Hi rj

This discussion here has made me think .. is there any book written by an Australian politician that I would spend money on, even an e-book? Is there a book I can think of written by an Australian politician? I'm still thinking but I think the answer is no and no. Another difference in our cultures? Our best known sinophile politician writes, but lots of people are grateful that it hasn't yet stretched to book length. He is parodied for speaking in sentences that no-one understands one wonders if the parodies are necessary.

So what am I saying .. I think we like our politicians funny (Opposition Leader in Speedos, Prime Minister with broad accent) .. we find it hard to take any politician seriously. :)

xiaophil

Hey RJ

Yeah, I'll come back after I'm further. I might be the wrong guy to determine if it is a boring read or not. I can be very tolerant of boring historical books. But what strikes me is that he can clearly explain the events in China's history without saying too much or too little. I've never seen Mao and his comrades' thinking explained so well. Anyway, as I said, I'll report back.

xiaophil

Baba,

I think a lot of Americans would have trouble buying a book by Kissinger because, as RJ said, he was a member of Nixon's administration. I guess that's why Rudd wouldn't be a popular author too--he is associated with politics that people would rather forget. But I imagine ol' Rudd would could write a good book about China. (Maybe that's what he should have done in the first place.) Perhaps we should just wait ten, twenty years to forget his mistakes?

bababardwan

?Baba...you mean Bodawei mate, hehe :)

RJ

you guys do look alike .... :-)

xiaophil

Gosh, that was silly. I was in a hurry. But baba, nihao!

bababardwan

yeah, our avatars are identical in fact as is yours 哥们儿. The question is, what makes phil so special, having a personalised avatar, 那个帅哥？

bababardwan

Yo bro, ni hao right back at ya. :)

RJ

you will figure it out detective.

bodawei

Hey xiaophil

Which policies do you think everyone wants to forget? His fall from grace is generally attributed to his proposed resources super profits tax and the proposed carbon tax (which passed through Parliament today.) Both policies get the good government tick of approval - he was beaten by a powerful mining lobby funded by the richest Australian.

Elsewhere this is what Wikipaedia says about his policy achievements:

'The Rudd government's first acts included signing the Kyoto Protocol and delivering an apology to Indigenous Australians for the stolen generations. The previous government's industrial relations legislation, WorkChoices, was largely dismantled, Australia's remaining Iraq War combat personnel were withdrawn, and the "Australia 2020 Summit" was held. In response to the Global Financial Crisis, the government provided economic stimulus packages, and Australia was one of the few western countries to avoid the late-2000s recession.'

He doesn't have too much to apologise for - certainly that would be his view. His downsides may be his terse treatment of airline stewards, and his annoying way of speaking like a bureaucrat.

Anyway, you might see him back as Prime Minister ..

bodawei

Hi rj

'you guys do look alike .... :-)'

I never knew that .. or do you mean that all Australians look the same? :)

RJ

babadawei,

It was a joke, on several levels, including the fact that all avatars are now alike, but I was careful not to say exactly what you are implying, simply because I feared some would not understand my sarcasm. The term "look" also takes on a different meaning when dealing with folks across the internet only. We "see" each other every day but never really see each other. You are that Aussie guy, oh, and baba is also that Aussie guy, with different features, so I can see how someone might make the mistake when hurriedly sending a response. You two are the only Aussies I "know". That is know well enough to chat with and learn from, well enough to joke with and tease relentlessly (in fact, I may have overstepped my bounds in that area at times, but know that I only tease folks I admire). So both of you are stored in a similar place in my brain, right next to my limited knowledge of all things Australian (which is a pretty small group of brain cells btw) so I can see making the same mistake as Phil, well maybe not, I do see you as two very distinct personalities, but I can see how it might happen. I kind of thought it was funny, "knowing" Phil as I do, and sure that he is not guilty of any sin here other than being in a hurry, I just grabbed the opportunity to wind you up a bit and to make a small commentary regarding the fact that cpod has managed to lose everyone's avatar. So please dont read too much into it my friend. Its all good on my end.

bababardwan

"babadawei"

haha, very good mate.

"you will figure it out detective"

...well aren't you special with your own personalised avatar? too good to look like the rest of us. hehe, actually I'm in a very heimao mood so, I'm enjoying the clandestine/blend in with the crowd nature of the current avatar. Sure, it's no doubt a matter of just reuploading the old avatar, but I have some CO to pump out first......

xiaophil

Ah, so I was wondering what would happen when it got to the "Kissinger era". I wonder if I'll like it after then. It's a toss up.

The history so far is nothing that I am unfamiliar with in the broad sense. But I like how he emphasizes what is happening behind the scenes versus what was reported. I also like that he shows that Mao wasn't just crazy when he did 'some' apparently crazy things. Not to say that I am a Mao fan, but he wasn't crazy 24/7. Some of his decisions were effective.

he2xu4

Are you on Google+? I can share you my copy of the book.

RJ

Phil,

Have you ever read Paul Johnson? "Modern Times" (history of the 20th century) and "The birth of the Modern" (1800's) are both good reads. I think you would like him.Very insightful guy.