The Trial of Henry Kissinger

May 7, 2001
The arrest of Augusto Pinochet signaled a significant shift in enforcing international law, noticed by Henry Kissinger if not others. Vanity Fair columnist Hitchens (No One Left to Lie To, etc.), a self-described "political opponent of Henry Kissinger," writes to remedy the awareness gap, focusing on specific charges of Kissinger's responsibility for mass killings of civilians, genocide, assassinations, kidnapping, murder and conspiracy involving Indochina, East Timor, Bangladesh, Cyprus, Greece and Chile. If the book's title is direct, Hitchens's style is not. Indeed, so much attention is given to unraveling Kissinger's denials and cover stories that the underlying allegations recede into the background. Most of the material is known, but Kissinger's possible culpability has been overlooked for so long that Hitchens's stylish summation may be precisely what's required to bring resolution to a chapter in American foreign policy. Topics include what Hitchens casts as Kissinger's role in helping Nixon undermine the Paris peace talks on the eve of the 1968 election; the bombings of Cambodia and Laos, which killed roughly a million civilians; the assassination of Chilean chief of staff General Rene Schneider, whose loyalty blocked the planned coup against Allende; Kissinger's approval and support for Indonesia's invasion of East Timor and the resulting genocide; his support for the Pakistan military government's 1971 genocide in Bangladesh and for a bloody military coup in independent Bangladesh in 1975, and more. If America does not act promptly, Hitchens warns, others will, further eroding our claims to moral leadership. (May)Forecast: Hitchens's fame and reputation as a contrarian guarantee that his indictment will receive media attention (it's already been serialized in Harper's), and leftists will delight in his skewering of Kissinger.

May 28, 2012
The explosive treatise from recently deceased journalist, author, and provocateur Hitchens—originally published in 2001 and then again in 2012—offers a no-holds-barred indictment of veteran Washington diplomat and power broker Henry Kissinger for a host of crimes related to covert military activity, the suppression of democracy, and the violation of human rights. Simon Prebble narrates in a dialect similar to that of fellow Englishman Hitchens, while also capturing the distinct tone of erudite rebellion that the author cultivated in the media spotlight. Of course, the personal vendetta that fuels the narrative may be impossible for any speaker other than Hitchens to fully convey, but Prebble rises to the occasion to the greatest extent possible. Prebble does an especially effective job of portraying Kissinger in the quotes and anecdotes featured in the text, tackling his vocal mannerisms and public persona without descending into caricature. A Twelve paperback.