Nixon's First Cover-up

Nixon's First Cover-up

Author: H. Larry Ingle

Publisher: University of Missouri Press

Published: 2015-07-07

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 0826273351

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Have you ever thought you completely knew a story, inside and out, only to see some new information that shatters what you had come to accept as unquestioned fact? Well, Richard Nixon is that story, and Nixon’s First Cover-up is that new information. With few exceptions, the religious ideologies and backgrounds of U.S. presidents is a topic sorely lacking in analysis. H. Larry Ingle seeks to remedy this situation regarding Nixon—one of the most controversial and intriguing of the presidents. Ingle delves more deeply into Nixon’s Quaker background than any previous scholar to observe the role Nixon’s religion played in his political career. Nixon’s unique and personally tailored brand of evangelical Quakerism stayed hidden when he wanted it to, but was on display whenever he felt it might help him advance his career in some way. Ingle’s unparalleled knowledge of Quakerism enables him to deftly point out how Nixon bent the traditional rules of the religion to suit his needs or, in some cases, simply ignored them entirely. This theme of the constant contradiction between Nixon’s actions and his apparent religious beliefs makes Nixon’s First Cover-up truly a groundbreaking study both in the field of Nixon research as well as the field of the influence of religion on the U.S. presidency. Forty years after Nixon’s resignation from office, Ingle’s work proves there remains much about the thirty-seventh president that the American public does not yet know.


Book Synopsis Nixon's First Cover-up by : H. Larry Ingle

Download or read book Nixon's First Cover-up written by H. Larry Ingle and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2015-07-07 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you ever thought you completely knew a story, inside and out, only to see some new information that shatters what you had come to accept as unquestioned fact? Well, Richard Nixon is that story, and Nixon’s First Cover-up is that new information. With few exceptions, the religious ideologies and backgrounds of U.S. presidents is a topic sorely lacking in analysis. H. Larry Ingle seeks to remedy this situation regarding Nixon—one of the most controversial and intriguing of the presidents. Ingle delves more deeply into Nixon’s Quaker background than any previous scholar to observe the role Nixon’s religion played in his political career. Nixon’s unique and personally tailored brand of evangelical Quakerism stayed hidden when he wanted it to, but was on display whenever he felt it might help him advance his career in some way. Ingle’s unparalleled knowledge of Quakerism enables him to deftly point out how Nixon bent the traditional rules of the religion to suit his needs or, in some cases, simply ignored them entirely. This theme of the constant contradiction between Nixon’s actions and his apparent religious beliefs makes Nixon’s First Cover-up truly a groundbreaking study both in the field of Nixon research as well as the field of the influence of religion on the U.S. presidency. Forty years after Nixon’s resignation from office, Ingle’s work proves there remains much about the thirty-seventh president that the American public does not yet know.

The Great Coverup

The Great Coverup

Author: Barry Sussman

Publisher:

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13:

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Sussman tracesption of Nixon and members of his staff cost him the presidency and shocked Americans into reassessing the power of their government. "The best and most lucid unraveling of Watergate".--San Francisco Bay Guardian. Marks the 20th anniversary of Watergate. Photographs.


Book Synopsis The Great Coverup by : Barry Sussman

Download or read book The Great Coverup written by Barry Sussman and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sussman tracesption of Nixon and members of his staff cost him the presidency and shocked Americans into reassessing the power of their government. "The best and most lucid unraveling of Watergate".--San Francisco Bay Guardian. Marks the 20th anniversary of Watergate. Photographs.

President Nixon

President Nixon

Author: Richard Reeves

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2002-10-10

Total Pages: 708

ISBN-13: 0743227190

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PRESIDENT NIXON shows a man alone in a White House ruled by secrets and lies, trying to impose old values at home and new balances of power everywhere in the world. Reeves proves that the Watergate scandal was no abberation in an administration foreshadowed by a series of successful uses of 'national security' to cover coups, burglaries, lies, the abandonment of America's allies - and even murder. Reeves portrays a man of vision and iron will who created, used and was used by a small cast of hard, ambitious men who formed a poisonous circle around their insecure leader. Alone, Nixon challenged and changed the world's political and military balance while also plotting to destroy both the Democratic and Republican parties in an attempt to create secretly a new party of the centre. This account of Nixon's stewardship will stand as the balanced, authoratative portrait of an astonishng president and his ruined presidency.


Book Synopsis President Nixon by : Richard Reeves

Download or read book President Nixon written by Richard Reeves and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2002-10-10 with total page 708 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PRESIDENT NIXON shows a man alone in a White House ruled by secrets and lies, trying to impose old values at home and new balances of power everywhere in the world. Reeves proves that the Watergate scandal was no abberation in an administration foreshadowed by a series of successful uses of 'national security' to cover coups, burglaries, lies, the abandonment of America's allies - and even murder. Reeves portrays a man of vision and iron will who created, used and was used by a small cast of hard, ambitious men who formed a poisonous circle around their insecure leader. Alone, Nixon challenged and changed the world's political and military balance while also plotting to destroy both the Democratic and Republican parties in an attempt to create secretly a new party of the centre. This account of Nixon's stewardship will stand as the balanced, authoratative portrait of an astonishng president and his ruined presidency.

The Nixon Tapes: 1971–1972

The Nixon Tapes: 1971–1972

Author: Douglas Brinkley

Publisher: HMH

Published: 2014-07-29

Total Pages: 797

ISBN-13: 0544277376

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These transcripts document two years of the Richard Nixon presidency and take you directly inside the White House: “A treasure trove” (The Boston Globe). These are the famous—and infamous—Nixon White House tapes that reveal for the first time President Richard Milhous Nixon uncensored, unfiltered, and in his own words. President Nixon’s voice-activated taping system captured every word spoken in the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, other key locations in the White House, and at Camp David—3,700 hours of recordings between 1971 and 1973. Yet less than five percent of those conversations have ever been transcribed and published. Now, thanks to historian Luke Nichter’s massive effort to digitize and transcribe the tapes, the world can finally read an unprecedented account of one of the most important and controversial presidencies in US history. This volume of The Nixon Tapes offers a selection of fascinating scenes from the period in which Nixon opened relations with China, negotiated the SALT I arms agreement with the Soviet Union, and won a landslide reelection victory. All the while, the growing shadow of Watergate and Nixon’s political downfall crept ever closer. The Nixon Tapes provides a never-before-seen glimpse into a flawed president’s hubris, paranoia, and political genius—“essential for students of the era and fascinating for those who lived it” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).


Book Synopsis The Nixon Tapes: 1971–1972 by : Douglas Brinkley

Download or read book The Nixon Tapes: 1971–1972 written by Douglas Brinkley and published by HMH. This book was released on 2014-07-29 with total page 797 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These transcripts document two years of the Richard Nixon presidency and take you directly inside the White House: “A treasure trove” (The Boston Globe). These are the famous—and infamous—Nixon White House tapes that reveal for the first time President Richard Milhous Nixon uncensored, unfiltered, and in his own words. President Nixon’s voice-activated taping system captured every word spoken in the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, other key locations in the White House, and at Camp David—3,700 hours of recordings between 1971 and 1973. Yet less than five percent of those conversations have ever been transcribed and published. Now, thanks to historian Luke Nichter’s massive effort to digitize and transcribe the tapes, the world can finally read an unprecedented account of one of the most important and controversial presidencies in US history. This volume of The Nixon Tapes offers a selection of fascinating scenes from the period in which Nixon opened relations with China, negotiated the SALT I arms agreement with the Soviet Union, and won a landslide reelection victory. All the while, the growing shadow of Watergate and Nixon’s political downfall crept ever closer. The Nixon Tapes provides a never-before-seen glimpse into a flawed president’s hubris, paranoia, and political genius—“essential for students of the era and fascinating for those who lived it” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

The Last Liberal Republican

The Last Liberal Republican

Author: John Roy Price

Publisher: University Press of Kansas

Published: 2023-11-17

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 0700636137

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The Last Liberal Republican is a memoir from one of Nixon’s senior domestic policy advisors. John Roy Price—a member of the moderate wing of the Republican Party, a cofounder of the Ripon Society, and an employee on Nelson Rockefeller’s campaigns—joined Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and later John D. Ehrlichman, in the Nixon White House to develop domestic policies, especially on welfare, hunger, and health. Based on those policies, and the internal White House struggles around them, Price places Nixon firmly in the liberal Republican tradition of President Theodore Roosevelt, New York governor Thomas E. Dewey, and President Dwight Eisenhower. Price makes a valuable contribution to our evolving scholarship and understanding of the Nixon presidency. Nixon himself lamented that he would be remembered only for Watergate and China. The Last Liberal Republican provides firsthand insight into key moments regarding Nixon’s political and policy challenges in the domestic social policy arena. Price offers rich detail on the extent to which Nixon and his staff straddled a precarious balance between a Democratic-controlled Congress and an increasingly powerful conservative tide in Republican politics. The Last Liberal Republican provides a blow-by-blow inside view of how Nixon surprised the Democrats and shocked conservatives with his ambitious proposal for a guaranteed family income. Beyond Nixon’s surprising embrace of what we today call universal basic income, the thirty-seventh president reordered and vastly expanded the patchy food stamp program he inherited and built nutrition education and children’s food services into schools. Richard Nixon even almost achieved a national health insurance program: fifty years ago, with a private sector framework as part of his generous benefits insurance coverage for all, Nixon included coverage of preexisting conditions, prescription drug coverage for all, and federal subsidies for those who could not afford the premiums. The Last Liberal Republican will be a valuable resource for presidency scholars who are studying Nixon, his policies, the state of the Republican Party, and how the Nixon years relate to the rise of the modern conservative movement.


Book Synopsis The Last Liberal Republican by : John Roy Price

Download or read book The Last Liberal Republican written by John Roy Price and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2023-11-17 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Last Liberal Republican is a memoir from one of Nixon’s senior domestic policy advisors. John Roy Price—a member of the moderate wing of the Republican Party, a cofounder of the Ripon Society, and an employee on Nelson Rockefeller’s campaigns—joined Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and later John D. Ehrlichman, in the Nixon White House to develop domestic policies, especially on welfare, hunger, and health. Based on those policies, and the internal White House struggles around them, Price places Nixon firmly in the liberal Republican tradition of President Theodore Roosevelt, New York governor Thomas E. Dewey, and President Dwight Eisenhower. Price makes a valuable contribution to our evolving scholarship and understanding of the Nixon presidency. Nixon himself lamented that he would be remembered only for Watergate and China. The Last Liberal Republican provides firsthand insight into key moments regarding Nixon’s political and policy challenges in the domestic social policy arena. Price offers rich detail on the extent to which Nixon and his staff straddled a precarious balance between a Democratic-controlled Congress and an increasingly powerful conservative tide in Republican politics. The Last Liberal Republican provides a blow-by-blow inside view of how Nixon surprised the Democrats and shocked conservatives with his ambitious proposal for a guaranteed family income. Beyond Nixon’s surprising embrace of what we today call universal basic income, the thirty-seventh president reordered and vastly expanded the patchy food stamp program he inherited and built nutrition education and children’s food services into schools. Richard Nixon even almost achieved a national health insurance program: fifty years ago, with a private sector framework as part of his generous benefits insurance coverage for all, Nixon included coverage of preexisting conditions, prescription drug coverage for all, and federal subsidies for those who could not afford the premiums. The Last Liberal Republican will be a valuable resource for presidency scholars who are studying Nixon, his policies, the state of the Republican Party, and how the Nixon years relate to the rise of the modern conservative movement.

They Said No to Nixon

They Said No to Nixon

Author: Michael Koncewicz

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2020-09-15

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 0520377486

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"In more than 3,000 recorded conversations, the Nixon tapes famously exposed a president's sinister views of governance that would eventually lead to his downfall. Despite Richard Nixon's best efforts, his vision of a government where he could use his power to punish his political enemies never came to fruition because there were those in his party who defied the president's directives. While many are familiar with the Republicans who turned against Nixon during the final stages of the Watergate saga, They Said No to Nixon uncovers for the first time those within the administration--including Nixon's own appointees--who opposed the White House early on, quietly blocking the president's attacks on the IRS, the Justice Department, and other sectors of the federal government. Culling from previously unpublished excerpts from the tapes and recently released material that expose the thirty-seventh president's uncensored views, Michael Koncewicz reveals how several Republican party members chose loyalty to their roles as civil servants over Nixon's attempts to expand the imperial presidency. Delving into the culture of criminality surrounding Watergate and why it did not succeed, They Said No to Nixon sheds light on the significant cultural and ideological shifts that occurred within the GOP during the pivotal 1970s. To this day, the Nixon tapes are a bracing reminder of the threat to constitutional order posed by a president who wields power without restraint"--Provided by publisher.


Book Synopsis They Said No to Nixon by : Michael Koncewicz

Download or read book They Said No to Nixon written by Michael Koncewicz and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In more than 3,000 recorded conversations, the Nixon tapes famously exposed a president's sinister views of governance that would eventually lead to his downfall. Despite Richard Nixon's best efforts, his vision of a government where he could use his power to punish his political enemies never came to fruition because there were those in his party who defied the president's directives. While many are familiar with the Republicans who turned against Nixon during the final stages of the Watergate saga, They Said No to Nixon uncovers for the first time those within the administration--including Nixon's own appointees--who opposed the White House early on, quietly blocking the president's attacks on the IRS, the Justice Department, and other sectors of the federal government. Culling from previously unpublished excerpts from the tapes and recently released material that expose the thirty-seventh president's uncensored views, Michael Koncewicz reveals how several Republican party members chose loyalty to their roles as civil servants over Nixon's attempts to expand the imperial presidency. Delving into the culture of criminality surrounding Watergate and why it did not succeed, They Said No to Nixon sheds light on the significant cultural and ideological shifts that occurred within the GOP during the pivotal 1970s. To this day, the Nixon tapes are a bracing reminder of the threat to constitutional order posed by a president who wields power without restraint"--Provided by publisher.

King Richard

King Richard

Author: Michael Dobbs

Publisher: Knopf

Published: 2021-05-25

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 0385350090

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ONE OF USA TODAY'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A riveting account of the crucial days, hours, and moments when the Watergate conspiracy consumed, and ultimately toppled, a president—from the best-selling author of One Minute to Midnight. In January 1973, Richard Nixon had just been inaugurated after winning re-election in a historic landslide. He enjoyed an almost 70 percent approval rating. But by April 1973, his presidency had fallen apart as the Watergate scandal metastasized into what White House counsel John Dean called “a full-blown cancer.” King Richard is the intimate, utterly absorbing narrative of the tension-packed hundred days when the Watergate conspiracy unraveled as the burglars and their handlers turned on one another, exposing the crimes of a vengeful president. Drawing on thousands of hours of newly-released taped recordings, Michael Dobbs takes us into the heart of the conspiracy, recreating these traumatic events in cinematic detail. He captures the growing paranoia of the principal players and their desperate attempts to deflect blame as the noose tightens around them. We eavesdrop on Nixon plotting with his aides, raging at his enemies, while also finding time for affectionate moments with his family. The result is an unprecedentedly vivid, close-up portrait of a president facing his greatest crisis. Central to the spellbinding drama is the tortured personality of Nixon himself, a man whose strengths, particularly his determination to win at all costs, become his fatal flaws. Rising from poverty to become the most powerful man in the world, he commits terrible errors of judgment that lead to his public disgrace. He makes himself—and then destroys himself. Structured like a classical tragedy with a uniquely American twist, King Richard is an epic, deeply human story of ambition, power, and betrayal.


Book Synopsis King Richard by : Michael Dobbs

Download or read book King Richard written by Michael Dobbs and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2021-05-25 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ONE OF USA TODAY'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A riveting account of the crucial days, hours, and moments when the Watergate conspiracy consumed, and ultimately toppled, a president—from the best-selling author of One Minute to Midnight. In January 1973, Richard Nixon had just been inaugurated after winning re-election in a historic landslide. He enjoyed an almost 70 percent approval rating. But by April 1973, his presidency had fallen apart as the Watergate scandal metastasized into what White House counsel John Dean called “a full-blown cancer.” King Richard is the intimate, utterly absorbing narrative of the tension-packed hundred days when the Watergate conspiracy unraveled as the burglars and their handlers turned on one another, exposing the crimes of a vengeful president. Drawing on thousands of hours of newly-released taped recordings, Michael Dobbs takes us into the heart of the conspiracy, recreating these traumatic events in cinematic detail. He captures the growing paranoia of the principal players and their desperate attempts to deflect blame as the noose tightens around them. We eavesdrop on Nixon plotting with his aides, raging at his enemies, while also finding time for affectionate moments with his family. The result is an unprecedentedly vivid, close-up portrait of a president facing his greatest crisis. Central to the spellbinding drama is the tortured personality of Nixon himself, a man whose strengths, particularly his determination to win at all costs, become his fatal flaws. Rising from poverty to become the most powerful man in the world, he commits terrible errors of judgment that lead to his public disgrace. He makes himself—and then destroys himself. Structured like a classical tragedy with a uniquely American twist, King Richard is an epic, deeply human story of ambition, power, and betrayal.

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Author: John A. Farrell

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2018-02-06

Total Pages: 786

ISBN-13: 0345804961

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From a prize-winning biographer comes the defining portrait of a man who led America in a time of turmoil and left us a darker age. We live today, John A. Farrell shows, in a world Richard Nixon made. At the end of WWII, navy lieutenant “Nick” Nixon returned from the Pacific and set his cap at Congress, an idealistic dreamer seeking to build a better world. Yet amid the turns of that now-legendary 1946 campaign, Nixon’s finer attributes gave way to unapologetic ruthlessness. The story of that transformation is the stunning overture to John A. Farrell’s magisterial biography of the president who came to embody postwar American resentment and division. Within four years of his first victory, Nixon was a U.S. senator; in six, the vice president of the United States of America. “Few came so far, so fast, and so alone,” Farrell writes. Nixon’s sins as a candidate were legion; and in one unlawful secret plot, as Farrell reveals here, Nixon acted to prolong the Vietnam War for his own political purposes. Finally elected president in 1969, Nixon packed his staff with bright young men who devised forward-thinking reforms addressing health care, welfare, civil rights, and protection of the environment. It was a fine legacy, but Nixon cared little for it. He aspired to make his mark on the world stage instead, and his 1972 opening to China was the first great crack in the Cold War. Nixon had another legacy, too: an America divided and polarized. He was elected to end the war in Vietnam, but his bombing of Cambodia and Laos enraged the antiwar movement. It was Nixon who launched the McCarthy era, who played white against black with a “southern strategy,” and spurred the Silent Majority to despise and distrust the country’s elites. Ever insecure and increasingly paranoid, he persuaded Americans to gnaw, as he did, on grievances—and to look at one another as enemies. Finally, in August 1974, after two years of the mesmerizing intrigue and scandal of Watergate, Nixon became the only president to resign in disgrace. Richard Nixon is a gripping and unsparing portrayal of our darkest president. Meticulously researched, brilliantly crafted, and offering fresh revelations, it will be hailed as a master work.


Book Synopsis Richard Nixon by : John A. Farrell

Download or read book Richard Nixon written by John A. Farrell and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2018-02-06 with total page 786 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a prize-winning biographer comes the defining portrait of a man who led America in a time of turmoil and left us a darker age. We live today, John A. Farrell shows, in a world Richard Nixon made. At the end of WWII, navy lieutenant “Nick” Nixon returned from the Pacific and set his cap at Congress, an idealistic dreamer seeking to build a better world. Yet amid the turns of that now-legendary 1946 campaign, Nixon’s finer attributes gave way to unapologetic ruthlessness. The story of that transformation is the stunning overture to John A. Farrell’s magisterial biography of the president who came to embody postwar American resentment and division. Within four years of his first victory, Nixon was a U.S. senator; in six, the vice president of the United States of America. “Few came so far, so fast, and so alone,” Farrell writes. Nixon’s sins as a candidate were legion; and in one unlawful secret plot, as Farrell reveals here, Nixon acted to prolong the Vietnam War for his own political purposes. Finally elected president in 1969, Nixon packed his staff with bright young men who devised forward-thinking reforms addressing health care, welfare, civil rights, and protection of the environment. It was a fine legacy, but Nixon cared little for it. He aspired to make his mark on the world stage instead, and his 1972 opening to China was the first great crack in the Cold War. Nixon had another legacy, too: an America divided and polarized. He was elected to end the war in Vietnam, but his bombing of Cambodia and Laos enraged the antiwar movement. It was Nixon who launched the McCarthy era, who played white against black with a “southern strategy,” and spurred the Silent Majority to despise and distrust the country’s elites. Ever insecure and increasingly paranoid, he persuaded Americans to gnaw, as he did, on grievances—and to look at one another as enemies. Finally, in August 1974, after two years of the mesmerizing intrigue and scandal of Watergate, Nixon became the only president to resign in disgrace. Richard Nixon is a gripping and unsparing portrayal of our darkest president. Meticulously researched, brilliantly crafted, and offering fresh revelations, it will be hailed as a master work.

Richard M. Nixon

Richard M. Nixon

Author: Conrad Black

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2008-10-23

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 0786727039

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From the late 1940s to the mid-1970s, Richard Nixon was a polarizing figure in American politics, admired for his intelligence, savvy, and strategic skill, and reviled for his shady manner and cutthroat tactics. Conrad Black, whose epic biography of FDR was widely acclaimed as a masterpiece, now separates the good in Nixon—his foreign initiatives, some of his domestic policies, and his firm political hand—from the sinister, in a book likely to generate enormous attention and controversy. Black believes the hounding of Nixon from office was partly political retribution from a lifetime's worth of enemies and Nixon's misplaced loyalty to unworthy subordinates, and not clearly the consequence of crimes in which he participated. Conrad Black's own recent legal travails, though hardly comparable, have undoubtedly given him an unusual insight into the pressures faced by Nixon in his last two years as president and the first few years of his retirement.


Book Synopsis Richard M. Nixon by : Conrad Black

Download or read book Richard M. Nixon written by Conrad Black and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2008-10-23 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the late 1940s to the mid-1970s, Richard Nixon was a polarizing figure in American politics, admired for his intelligence, savvy, and strategic skill, and reviled for his shady manner and cutthroat tactics. Conrad Black, whose epic biography of FDR was widely acclaimed as a masterpiece, now separates the good in Nixon—his foreign initiatives, some of his domestic policies, and his firm political hand—from the sinister, in a book likely to generate enormous attention and controversy. Black believes the hounding of Nixon from office was partly political retribution from a lifetime's worth of enemies and Nixon's misplaced loyalty to unworthy subordinates, and not clearly the consequence of crimes in which he participated. Conrad Black's own recent legal travails, though hardly comparable, have undoubtedly given him an unusual insight into the pressures faced by Nixon in his last two years as president and the first few years of his retirement.

Pat Nixon

Pat Nixon

Author: Mary C. Brennan

Publisher: University Press of Kansas

Published: 2023-08-18

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0700636056

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Pat Nixon may be the least understood of modern first ladies. Although public opinion polls rated her one of our nation's most admired women, few Americans really knew much about her. This first scholarly biography of Thelma Ryan Nixon—the first biography in thirty-five years and the first to access her papers-goes further than any other book to show readers the real Pat Nixon. Lester David's The Lonely Lady of San Clemente painted her as a tragic figure while Julie Nixon Eisenhower's adoring Pat Nixon: The Untold Story fell short of offering an objective portrait. Now Mary Brennan moves beyond the oversimplified appraisals of this neglected first lady to provide a powerful study of a complex and fascinating presidential spouse. Drawing on Mrs. Nixon's recently opened papers-as well as on recollections of both friends and adversaries—Brennan debunks the myth of "Plastic Pat" and fleshes out the real woman behind the stories and stereotypes. The Nixons had more in common with small-town Americans than with Washington society, and Brennan shows that part of Pat's difficulty in dealing with the political world was that she never quite left the "normal" Pat behind. Political and social upheaval during her husband's presidency further complicated her role as first lady, as she had to confront a shifting cultural terrain with the whole world watching. Brennan emphasizes Pat's activism—the first presidential wife to serve as official government representative, as well as the most traveled—and examines her complicated relationship with her husband. Often seen as a "good soldier," Pat, in reality, engaged in constant warfare with her husband and his advisers as she tried to protect her own schedule from interference from the West Wing. Blending empathy and objectivity, Brennan shows that Pat Nixon was a strong woman caught up in circumstances beyond her control who did as her ancestors had done: gritted her teeth and got the job done as best she could. This account of an embattled first lady opens a new window on the Nixon years and finally allows Pat Nixon to take center stage in her own life.


Book Synopsis Pat Nixon by : Mary C. Brennan

Download or read book Pat Nixon written by Mary C. Brennan and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2023-08-18 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pat Nixon may be the least understood of modern first ladies. Although public opinion polls rated her one of our nation's most admired women, few Americans really knew much about her. This first scholarly biography of Thelma Ryan Nixon—the first biography in thirty-five years and the first to access her papers-goes further than any other book to show readers the real Pat Nixon. Lester David's The Lonely Lady of San Clemente painted her as a tragic figure while Julie Nixon Eisenhower's adoring Pat Nixon: The Untold Story fell short of offering an objective portrait. Now Mary Brennan moves beyond the oversimplified appraisals of this neglected first lady to provide a powerful study of a complex and fascinating presidential spouse. Drawing on Mrs. Nixon's recently opened papers-as well as on recollections of both friends and adversaries—Brennan debunks the myth of "Plastic Pat" and fleshes out the real woman behind the stories and stereotypes. The Nixons had more in common with small-town Americans than with Washington society, and Brennan shows that part of Pat's difficulty in dealing with the political world was that she never quite left the "normal" Pat behind. Political and social upheaval during her husband's presidency further complicated her role as first lady, as she had to confront a shifting cultural terrain with the whole world watching. Brennan emphasizes Pat's activism—the first presidential wife to serve as official government representative, as well as the most traveled—and examines her complicated relationship with her husband. Often seen as a "good soldier," Pat, in reality, engaged in constant warfare with her husband and his advisers as she tried to protect her own schedule from interference from the West Wing. Blending empathy and objectivity, Brennan shows that Pat Nixon was a strong woman caught up in circumstances beyond her control who did as her ancestors had done: gritted her teeth and got the job done as best she could. This account of an embattled first lady opens a new window on the Nixon years and finally allows Pat Nixon to take center stage in her own life.