| Nixon - Ruin and Recovery, 1973-1990
(1991)
|
| Front Cover |
Book Details |
|
| Genre |
Biography; Non-Fiction |
| Subject |
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994; Presidents - United States - Biography; United States - Politics and government - 1945-1989 |
| Publication Date |
11/15/1991 |
| Format |
Hardcover (9.4
x
6.4
mm)
|
| Publisher |
Simon & Schuster |
| Language |
English |
| Extras |
Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover |
|
| Description |
| Nixon's late career is the political story of the century. With a historian's perspective, Ambrose unravels one of the major mysteries of American political life: How this fascinating president destroyed and then resurrected himself. 16 pages of photographs. |
| Personal Details |
| Store |
Powell's City of Books |
| Purchase Price |
$16.95 |
| Acquire Date |
11/29/2020 |
| Condition |
Very Good/Very Good |
| Rating |
0 |
| Links |
Library of Congress
|
|
| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
E856 .A72 1991 |
| Dewey |
973.924 |
| ISBN |
9780671691882 |
| Edition |
[1st ed.] |
| Series |
Nixon |
| Volume |
3 |
| Cover Price |
$27.50 |
| No. of Pages |
667 |
| First Edition |
Yes |
| Rare |
No |
|
| Notes/Review |
This third volume is as good as the first two. Again, Ambrose presents what I think is a fair look at Nixon.
Much of this volume is focused on Watergate. For 19 months, Watergate sucked the oxygen out of whatever room Nixon occupied. Pretty much all he did over that time was to try to prevent the public from finding out what he did, blaming other people, and insisting he did nothing wrong. After he resigned, he worked on building a fortune and continued his efforts to suppress the true history of his Administration.
I think it is important to keep in mind Nixon's priorities. When considering action X, Nixon's priorities were: is X good for Nixon? Is X good for his party? Is X good for America? Viewed through this lens, pretty much everything he did makes sense.
In addition to the straight reporting of Nixon's story, there are a couple of chapters where Ambrose engages in analysis. I find Ambrose's analysis quite good. I don't agree with him in all cases, but his reasoning is sound. Anyone who may not be interested in reading the whole book may still want to read chapter 15 and the Epilogue.
The damage Nixon did to America is incalculable. It's not really possible to understand how we got to where we are today as a nation without understanding Nixon's actions and motivations. |
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