my name is andras simonyi. i'm the ambassador, and i am, your, host tonight which promises to be an extraordinary event. i'm so honored that my good friend and personal hero john lukacs with us here tonight to talk about with a subject that is so dear to all of us.

my name is andras simonyi. i'm the ambassador, and i am, your, host tonight which promises to be an extraordinary event. i'm so honored that my good friend and personal hero john lukacs with us here tonight to talk about with a subject that is so dear to all of us. through a person who has been so outstanding in the history of the second half of the 20th century. and i say this because of course you all know that the title of the new book, a study of character, but tonight professor lukacs is going to use this book as a vehicle to talk about kennan in europe, and i as a european, and also a person who believes in the importance of the strong ties between the united states and europe, i am just thrilled to hear professor lukacs' take on this subject. professor lukacs really does not need much introduction. as a historian, he's pretty much the, historian who has been able to bring the 20th century, the history of the 20th century closest to the, to us. he's, of course, you might, i don't think this needs repetiti