You always appreciate the people who are kind to you as you wind your way through life. For me, Henry Kissinger was one such person, so I was sad to read of his death last week.

I came to Kissinger originally through his books. I read his masterly history of the Congress of Vienna and the diplomacy of Castlereagh and Metternich many years ago. His later book, Diplomacy, is a must-read for anybody who wants a career in international relations. And Kissinger’s book On China explains to any interested person why China pursues the strategy that it does today.