George Kennan: A Writing Life
The prodigious writing output of the late diplomat and historian George Kennan (1904–2005) occupies center stage here. Since Kennan received some of the most prestigious literary awards (both the Pulitzer and Bancroft), this subject extends beyond academic interest; just how far, libraries might gauge by the circulation performance of the recent biographical sketch George Kennan, by John Lukacs (2007). Congdon, also a historian, paraphrases the content of Kennan’s histories, most of which dealt with the origin and consequences of World War I, and draws from these summaries Kennan’s sense of tragedy and human frailty, which was central to his philosophical outlook. Kennan himself spelled that out in his Around the Cragged Hill (1993); the alienation from contemporary America evident in its pages finds its precursors in Congdon’s inspections of Kennan’s diary entries, letters, and current-events commentaries in popular media. Judging that Kennan’s literary craft will buoy his oeuvre over time, Congdon’s assessment should appeal to admirers of Kennan or of narrative history in general. --Gilbert Taylor