---
product_id: 32950039
title: "George F. Kennan: An American Life"
brand: "john lewis gaddis"
price: "₨31578"
currency: LKR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 7
url: https://www.desertcart.lk/products/32950039-george-f-kennan-an-american-life
store_origin: LK
region: Sri Lanka
---

# George F. Kennan: An American Life

**Brand:** john lewis gaddis
**Price:** ₨31578
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** George F. Kennan: An American Life by john lewis gaddis
- **How much does it cost?** ₨31578 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.lk](https://www.desertcart.lk/products/32950039-george-f-kennan-an-american-life)

## Best For

- john lewis gaddis enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted john lewis gaddis brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

George F. Kennan: An American Life

## Images

![George F. Kennan: An American Life - Image 1](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51p1Ubi1CYL.jpg)
![George F. Kennan: An American Life - Image 2](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31gSPPE8mDL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Grand Strategist
  

*by E***S on Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2018*

John Lewis Gaddis obtained from the great man much time and personal access, and was granted privileges to Kennan’s archives. Gaddis has produced a very profound, insightful work on George Kennan‘s Grand Strategy. Kennan promulgated this strategy through the Long Telegram, his famous writing as author „X“ in the journal, Foreign Affairs, and in position papers of the Policy Planning Staff under George Marshall and Dean Acheson.  The reader walks with Kennan through the 1920‘s when, under the Rogers Act, the man in his young 20‘s enters the very first generation of a newly established class of professional, career officers of America‘s foreign service. The reader, with the young Kennan, learns to love Russian culture and history as the State Department sponsors his immersive graduate studies in Russian language and history combined with work-study programs in consulate offices. Kennan, like Dean Acheson, was present at the creation. Kennan underestimated his own power of influence, both at the end of World War II, the outset of the Cold War, and over the seventy years remaining in his life when a grateful nation kept seeking his counsel despite his seeking of scholarly refuge from the empyrean heights of the Advanced Institute at Princeton University. Kennan’s greatness emerged in strategic vision promulgated with force of language shaped by Shakespeare, John Donne and Edward Gibbon. A very inward, reflective, even spiritual man, Kennan always felt responsible towards children and posterity; he always took other persons very seriously in their humanity. These spiritual qualities combined with poetic powers that found new forms of strategic expression patterned for new world situations as they arose — his foresight as early as the 1940’s of Communism’s ultimate fall under its own weight due to the unwieldiness of the Soviet Union’s far-flung empire; his opposition to the Vietnam War as well as the bombing of Hanoi; as well as his proposal in the 1980‘s of strategic arms reduction (to replace arms limitation) with an ultimate goal to eliminate weapons of mass destruction overall. Gaddis does not shrink from candid review of Kennan’s considerable limitations and faults. Gaddis’ work is well-balanced. My first contact with George Kennan came 50 years ago as a college junior in international relations, having been assigned Kennan‘s concise „Lenin and the West.“ Kennan‘s vision struck that college junior forever, and Gaddis‘ biography is one of the few expressions that measures up to the great man‘s legacy. This work should be read in conjunction with the very profound work of Robert Beisner, „Dean Acheson and the Cold War“.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    A Wonk's Wonk
  

*by F***E on Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2014*

It would be next to impossible to read about the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union without George Kennan's name appearing. The man's containment argument carried the day in Washington D.C., helped our nation avoid war with the U.S.S.R., and, therefore, prevented needless deaths on both sides. For about three decades, I've always wondered why this guy? Sure, Mr. Kennan was acknowledged as a very smart person when it came to Russian history, but it's difficult to believe he was the only big brain kicking around D.C. that had a firm grasp of the Russian mindset as well as Bolshevism.Mr. Gaddis does an excellent job in, not only explaining Mr. Kennan's importance and how he became indispensable, but also the full measure of the man. Warts and all. The author rightly had concerns about taking on a biography about such a thin-skinned man while the dude was still alive. Mr. Gaddis explains the conditions which were put in place for him to attempt the biography. His intimate access to Mr. Kennan's boatloads of written arguments; the man's family, friends and foes; and most importantly exclusive use of Mr. Kennan's life-long personal diary culminates into not a gushy lovefest but a very balanced, absorbing biography. Mr. Gaddis's book certainly deserved the Pulitzer Prize. Like everyone else, Kennan had qualities that were admirable and other aspects of his personality that were either annoying or made him a good candidate for being hit on the side of the head with an iron skillet.The story is about a brilliant wonk whose ability to right cogent, poetic assessments that influenced policy makers is what separated him from the other bright bureaucrats. Man oh man, the guy rubbed elbows with the big guys; Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Bush 41, and Clinton as well as General MacArthur, Secretary of States George Marshall, Dean Acheson, and George Shultz. Then there's Robert Oppenheimer, Mikhail Gorbachev... look, my fingers are getting tired in listing all the power brokers. You get the picture. Also, his love of Russian history and culture and ability to speak perfect Russian made him a cut above the rest. At his core, Mr. Kennan had an oddly wonkish heart and the unstable emotions of your stereotypical artist. The man was completely, laughably clueless about contemporary American culture.In the week I was reading "George F. Kennan," not one person who asked me had any idea who he was. That's a shame. Mr. Kennan strongly believed that style was as important as substance. He joined the two and made himself into a valuable asset. Mr. Gaddis seems to have taken the same attitude while writing his Kennan biography and the result is an outstanding work which deserves a wide readership.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Superbly researched and fascinating subject
  

*by A***B on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2014*

Wonderfully written, superbly detailed and authoritative given the biographer spent 30 years amassing information through first hand interviews as well as background research on his subject. Has described Keenan in the full light of day - little is hidden of his faults and indeed achievements. One wonders how many figures in history could have achieved so much in such varied disciplines (diplomacy, the person Stalin's daughter sought when she chose to defect, member of the Advanced Studies Institute alongside Oppenheimer, President of the American Arts Society and Pulitzer prize winner).Well worth reading and highly approachable - surprised his name isn't more widely recognised given his involvement in the shaping of world order post WWII

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.lk/products/32950039-george-f-kennan-an-american-life](https://www.desertcart.lk/products/32950039-george-f-kennan-an-american-life)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Sri Lanka*
*Store origin: LK*
*Last updated: 2026-03-17*