| Nixon - The Triumph of a Politician, 1962-1972
(1989)
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| Front Cover |
Book Details |
Back Cover |
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| Genre |
Non-Fiction; Biography |
| Subject |
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994; Presidents - United States - Biography; United States - Politics and government - 1945-1989 |
| Publication Date |
10/1/1989 |
| Format |
Hardcover (9.4
x
7.0
mm)
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| Publisher |
Simon & Schuster |
| Language |
English |
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| Description |
| This book is about one of the most complex and puzzling of our chief executives at the apogee of his career--rebounding from defeat to an innovative, high-risk presidency, already sowing the seeds of his ruin. Illustrated. |
| Personal Details |
| Store |
Powell's City of Books |
| Purchase Price |
$7.95 |
| Acquire Date |
5/1/2020 |
| Condition |
Good/Good |
| Rating |
0 |
| Links |
Library of Congress
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| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
E856 .A72 1987 |
| Dewey |
973.9240924 |
| ISBN |
9780671528379 |
| Series |
Nixon |
| Volume |
2 |
| Cover Price |
$24.95 |
| No. of Pages |
736 |
| First Edition |
No |
| Rare |
No |
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| Notes/Review |
This excellent biography of Nixon continues, covering his time out of office and through his first term as President.
As I said in my review of the first volume, my mind is already made up about the man. Although he possessed some remarkable personal qualities, I feel they're more than offset by his negative traits, particularly his paranoia.
Ambrose remains remarkably fair and even-handed. One point (of many) where I think Nixon was working against the best interests of the USA and American citizens was when, during the campaign of 1968, Nixon worked to sabotage LBJ's efforts to arrive at a negotiated peace in Vietnam. Ambrose dismisses the issue, saying that the talks were doomed to fail regardless of Nixon's interference. I disagree with this line of thought. If, say, an assassin enters the bedroom of his target and pumps it full of bullets, does it really matter if the target was already dead? I don't know if said assassin could be charged with murder. But the intent is clear, and if the target had been alive when the assassin entered the room, it certainly would have been murder. So, is Nixon responsible for the war's final 4 years? Even if his actions weren't the sole reason the war dragged on, it was clearly his intent.
As in the first volume, I'll laud Ambrose for the two chapters (18 and 28) in this volume that assess his first term. Each of these chapters covers two years. (These are summary chapters analyzing the events that are fully described in the preceding chapters.)
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