"The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made"

[Myra Bronstein]

Has anyone read "The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made," by Walter Isaacson (of Time magazine) & Evan Thomas? It's reviewed here by the Council on Foreign Relations: http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19861201fabo...they-made.html|

I want to read about these individuals, for obvious reasons. But I'm wondering if it's a waste of time, for obvious reasons.

Edited June 8, 2007 by Myra Bronstein

[Terry Mauro]

Has anyone read "The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made," by Walter Isaacson (of Time magazine) & Evan Thomas? It's reviewed here by the Council on Foreign Relations: http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19861201fabo...they-made.html|

I want to read about these individuals, for obvious reasons. But I'm wondering if it's a waste of time, for obvious reasons.

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"Where and how is the government to find and attract men and women of experience and judgment to fill its top policymaking positions? It has always been something of an earnings sacrifice to accept a governmental appointment; today it is also likely to be a capital sacrifice. When added to the other costs and the loss of privacy, the impediments become quite serious. Perhaps this is why policy positions in foreign affairs are filled more and more with people from academic life and the military services. Recent history suggests the results are not always good."

Among the more affluent and those with the deepest pockets.

This seems to be written from the prospectus of a Wall Street investment portfolio.

It might be of value if nothing more than to be able to crawl inside the mind of one of the top ten percentile, for the specific purpose of learning how that sector views the rest of the plebes, if at all.

What I gleaned from this review, only serves to reinforce my original thoughts as to what little distinction can be made between the elite classes, with regard to which party line serves their better interests. It seems to be at this apex of the economic scale where things begin to blur into what has become known as "one party - two branches."

The playing field narrows to include only those chosen few, or their progeny, considered as part and parcel of the more "well-heeled," or with long-established lines of patronage which harken back to the fur trade of pre-revolutionary times. But, will still leave room for the self-made, noveau riche "captains of industry," or the present century's entrepeneurial class of "wildcatters," so long as the vested interests stand to make their bottom line.

Apparently, these are the pedigreed determinants deemed requisite for the establishment and formulation of policy, both domestic and foreign. And, consider the source. Remember the old adage, "Know thine enemy..." Therefore, if reading this book might shed a little more light on how they've managed to maintain the stranglehold they've had for the last forty-four, or even the last two hundred and forty-four years, then by all means educate yourself. How could that be a waste of your time?