The Wise Men (book) The Wise Men (book) The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made is a 1986 book by Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas. It describes the actions of a group of U.S. government officials and members of the East Coast foreign policy Establishment. Starting in the immediate post-World War II period, the group developed the containment policy of dealing with the Communist bloc during the Cold War. They also helped to craft institutions and initiatives such as NATO, the World Bank, and the Marshall Plan. An updated edition of the book was released in 2012, as well as a
Biblical Magi depending on the tradition. The gift of gold is sometimes associated with Melchior as well and in some traditions, Melchior is the old man of the three Magi. Three gifts are explicitly identified in Matthew: gold, frankincense, and myrrh, in Koine Greek: "chrysós" (), "líbanos" () and "smýrna" (). Many different theories of the meaning and symbolism of the gifts have been brought forward. While gold is fairly obviously explained, frankincense, and particularly myrrh, are much more obscure. See the previous section for who gave which. The theories generally break down into two groups: Myrrh was used as an embalming