The Inevitability of Tragedy is a fascinating intellectual biography that examines Henry Kissinger's role in American government through his ideas. It analyses the continuing controversies surrounding Kissinger's policies in such places as Vietnam and Chile by offering an understanding of his definition of realism; his belief that foreign affairs must be conducted through a balance of power; and his view that promoting democracy is likely to result in defeats for the United States.

Barry Gewen places Kissinger's ideas in a European context by tracing them through his experience as a refugee from Nazi Germany and exploring the links between his notions of power and those of his mentor, Hans Morgenthau, as well as those of two other German-Jewish émigrés-Leo Strauss and Hannah Arendt-who shared his concerns about the weaknesses of democracy.