![]() ![]() ![]() Kennan’s ideas on the implacable nature of the Soviet regime and the policy of “containment” designed to block its expansionist nature became accepted wisdom for the cold warriors of his generation, as well as many of those who followed. ![]() Both writings contributed to laying the foundation for American policy towards its Soviet Union rival for much of the Cold War: the Soviet Union. X”, which publicized the ideas of the secret telegram. Kennan, born in Milwaukee and raised by sisters who would serve as anchors throughout his life, is best known for his “Long Telegram,” which he sent as a diplomat in Moscow in 1946, and an article he published in Foreign Affairs a year later under the pseudonym of “Mr. Gaddis seamlessly weaves together Kennan’s life of inconsistencies and philosophical vacillations, producing a coherent biography of a figure misunderstood both by his contemporaries and by his modern-day admirers. ![]() Kennan: An American Life (New York: Penguin Books, 2012), one is struck by the general absence of sensible decision-making by a man with incredible foresight in international affairs. After reading the lengthy but eminently readable George F. Of all the wise decisions George Frost Kennan made in his life, surely one of the best was choosing John Lewis Gaddis as his biographer. This book review was featured in GSSR Vol. ![]()
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