Hi John,
Re: "Kissinger,a Biography" - Mr. Kissinger is someone who has greatly intrigued me for the last several years. His private diplomacy and deal making with the Chinese leadership in particular strike me as a fantastic example of "sleeping with the enemy". As long as there's a buck in it. While supporting the ambitions of American business for cheaper sources of labor, Kissinger tirelessly works to make sure that the next generation of blue collar workers in the US enjoy a lowered standard of living.
Re: It seems many of the Key issues then such as working with China, dealing with currency turmoil, and maneuvering
around a dicey, explosive Mid east situation are still policy concerns that are front and center, for the US and
the World to deal with.
In that regard, I am seeking a definitive history of the creation of Israel. If you have suggestions, I'm all ears.
Daniel Yergin, in his encyclopedic tome "The Prize" did a masterful job of describing how the Great Game was played out in Iran and the Mid-East in the early part of the 20th Century. Highly recommended. Another book on the subject of the Great Game has just come to my attention and is on my to do list, it is "Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia". amazon.com
While not as directly related to oil exploration and exploitation, it sounds like it will be a fantastic overview of the history of region.
Another "revisionist" history of the Mid-East that might well be worth pursuing is "Empires in the Sand: The Struggle for the Mastery of the Middle East, 1789-1923" by Efraim Karsh:
amazon.com
Re: I'm not sold on the idea that we are going to have a 10 or 20 year malaise that mirrors, or is worse than Japan's
experience of the 1990's. But I'm not going to say it categorically can not happen.
I see it as dependent largely on leadership. With the backward looking administration in place in Washington, the entrepreneurial fever of the '90's will be suppressed for the sake of propping up the profits of the incumbents in many sectors from energy to telecom to medicine. I don't see a quick turnaround to the current malaise in the economy.
-Ray |
