Lai Sing Lam draws on his deep appreciation of the role that history plays in diplomacy by showing, in Conservatism and the Kissinger-Mao Axis, how the historically-informed strategic ideas of the two central protagonists aligned in the early 1970s to shape the contemporary international order. As it traces the story of the tripolar world order emerging after the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and its transformation into a bipolar world order after 1996, this book offers fresh insights into Mao’s thinking. Its stress on the deeply conservative foundations of both Kissinger’s and Mao’s positions is a useful antidote to romantics and revolutionaries alike. For those of us keen to understand the logic of China’s current strategic moves, and how we got here, this book is essential reading.