Book excerpt: His stature enabled him to play an active part in the promotion of the Arab-Israeli dialogue and pave the way for President Jimmy Carter's mediation of the Israeli-Egypt peace accord through his close relationship with Sadat. As a result of such activity, Kreisky was respected and praised by every U.S. administration from Kennedy to Reagan, and was on excellent terms with Khrushchev and Brezhnev, despite his support for the containment of Soviet communism."--BOOK JACKET.