George F. Kennan books in order
American advisor, diplomat, political scientist and historian
- Lived
- 1904–2005
- Country
- United States
- Books
- 20
George F. Kennan published 2 novels, 11 non-fiction books and 7 other books, beginning with Long Telegram (1946). The best-known is Sketches from a Life (2000).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with George F. Kennan
Start here
Sketches from a Life
George F. Kennan's most-read book.
Standalone novels in order
Long Telegram (Feb 1946)
Russia Leaves the War (1956)
Non-fiction in order
Realities of American Foreign Policy (1954)
Soviet-American Relations, 1917-1920 (1956)
Russia and the West Under Lenin and Stalin (1961)
Memoirs (1967)
Democracy and the Student Left (1968)
From Prague After Munich (1968)
Decline of the West? (1978)
Around the Cragged Hill (1993)
George F. Kennan and the Origins of Containment, 1944-1946 (1997)
Sketches from a Life (2000)
The Kennan Diaries (2014)
Other books in order
American Diplomacy (1952)
Soviet Foreign Policy, 1917-1941 (1978)
The Decline of Bismarck's European Order (1979)
The Nuclear Delusion (1982)
The Fateful Alliance (1984)
At a Century's Ending (1989)
Through the History of the Cold War (2010)
About George F. Kennan
George Frost Kennan was an American diplomat and historian. He was best known as an advocate of a policy of containment of Soviet expansion during the Cold War. He lectured widely and wrote scholarly histories of the relations between the USSR and the United States. He was also one of the group of foreign policy elders known as "The Wise Men".
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
George F. Kennan FAQ
- How many books has George F. Kennan written?
- George F. Kennan published 2 novels, 11 non-fiction books and 7 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read George F. Kennan's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Sketches from a Life.
- What is George F. Kennan's last book?
- Sketches from a Life (2000).
- What is George F. Kennan's most famous book?
- Sketches from a Life (2000) is George F. Kennan's most widely read book.
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.