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citizen_noir's review against another edition
5.0
For most of my life, Richard Nixon has been a silly caricature. Tricky Dick, of "I am not a crook," McCarthyism, "my little dog Checkers," Watergate, and double V is Victory farewell salute fame. These "memories" were pieced together not through actual experience but by gathering snippets of images from history books, newspaper articles, documentaries and other forms of media.
About ten years ago, I came across an old news report by Tom Brokaw on the day Nixon left the White House and was astounded to hear parts of Nixon's farewell to his staff. It is an incredible speech, and I highly recommend looking it up on YouTube to hear the entire thing. Suddenly Nixon became a three-dimensional person, not just a grievously flawed man, but also a deeply talented and emotional human being.
John Farrell's biography of Nixon helps further this three-dimensional quest for the real Richard Nixon. It is a wonderful read - the structure of the book, starting at the end of WWII - makes it exciting to follow. In addition, the book delves into many of the early experiences of Nixon that shaped him, such as the deaths of his two brothers, his humble grocer upbringing, and the never-ending suspicion and hatred of wealthy, well educated political rivals.
Nixon is certainly a deeply flawed person, but his story has to be one of the most amazing ones in all of world history: to rise to the highest seat of power in the land on sheer grit, hard work, and an unapologetic approach to bare knuckle politics; only to fall into utter disgrace and exile. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about the best and worst aspects of politics.
About ten years ago, I came across an old news report by Tom Brokaw on the day Nixon left the White House and was astounded to hear parts of Nixon's farewell to his staff. It is an incredible speech, and I highly recommend looking it up on YouTube to hear the entire thing. Suddenly Nixon became a three-dimensional person, not just a grievously flawed man, but also a deeply talented and emotional human being.
John Farrell's biography of Nixon helps further this three-dimensional quest for the real Richard Nixon. It is a wonderful read - the structure of the book, starting at the end of WWII - makes it exciting to follow. In addition, the book delves into many of the early experiences of Nixon that shaped him, such as the deaths of his two brothers, his humble grocer upbringing, and the never-ending suspicion and hatred of wealthy, well educated political rivals.
Nixon is certainly a deeply flawed person, but his story has to be one of the most amazing ones in all of world history: to rise to the highest seat of power in the land on sheer grit, hard work, and an unapologetic approach to bare knuckle politics; only to fall into utter disgrace and exile. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about the best and worst aspects of politics.
jblmk's review against another edition
5.0
My prior knowledge of Nixon was minimum. All I knew about him was when his name came up it was in tandem with Watergate and Impeachment.
This book narrates an unbiased story of his life and gives ample space for me to form my own opinion of our former president.
This book narrates an unbiased story of his life and gives ample space for me to form my own opinion of our former president.
strangeaffliction's review against another edition
5.0
Audiobook is excellent!! Long, but the story and the narration are both 5 stars.
bryan8063's review against another edition
4.0
This is the best one-volume treatment of Nixon I have read.
checkers09's review against another edition
5.0
Richard Nixon: The Life gives a full account of Nixons' story from his adolescence in rural California to his presidency and final years in the 1990s.
Recently I'd become quite interested in Nixon, especially after listening to a number of his tapes on the Nixon archives and this book looked like the perfect option to get a full and unbiased account of his life. In short this biography was exceptional and gave me a great understanding not only of the key events in his life but also his psychological mindset which gave him such success (and failures) in his life.
The book recounts Nixon's early life in California where he grew up on a farm in a Quaker household, unlike a number of more recent presidents Nixon grew up in poverty often having no shoes to wear and having to survive on a merger amount of food. Two of his brothers died young something that left a deep imprint on Nixon. his father was a notorious philanderer who often beat Nixon when he misbehaved and was a key contributor in Nixon's unique blend of conservatism. His mother on the other hand was diligent, always making sure her children looked respectable but emotionally distant.
Nixon enrolled in Wittier College and then went on to law school until WW2 where he enrolled and served in the Pacific as part of the navy. after the war in 1946 he took his first steps in politics when he was selected by the Republicans to run for Congress in California against the incumbent Democrat Voorhis. During the campaign he consolidated his win-at-all-cost political mindset, attacking Voorhis as a communist and trouncing him during multiple debates. During his years as a congressman, he was a leading figure in the creation and functioning of the HUAC, gaining nationwide recognition for successfully prosecuting Alger Hiss. He was nominated to be the Republican Vice President by Eisenhower in 1952 but was nearly forced to resign after mounting pressure over nefarious management of campaign finances, however, he was able to save his career with a televised speech that became known as the 'checkers' speech. After a relatively successful and at times contentious eight years as Vice President, he was nominated by the Republican Party for president in 1960, a highly competitive contest between two young candidates with the first televised debate in history. Nixon lost the election but made an unprecedented political comeback by eventually winning the presidency in 1968. Most of the first term was dominated by the Vietnam War (which he slowly scaled involvement in), as well as the opening up of China to the rest of the world. In his second term he was hampered by the Watergate scandal, and his mishandling of the situation including his attempted cover up caused him to resign in 1974 in disgrace. the remainder of his life he was mostly a distant spectator to world affairs and spent a great deal of his time writing many accounts of his years as president and spending time with his growing family before passing away in 1994.
Farrel in mostly fair in the assessment of Nixon's achievements and failures such as his advocacy of environmental protection creating and heavily funding the EPA. Farrel also discusses Nixon's role in the Vietnam war and the administration's many attempts at desolation and diplomatic compromise. the prelude and eventual visit to China is covered very well with a deep focus on the behind the scenes efforts from Kissinger and
in contrast he also covers in detail the many corruption allegations against Nixon such as of course the Watergate wiretappings and associated thefts and break-ins as well as mismanaged campaign finances, tax avoidance and his attempts to scuttle a peace deal in Vietnam during Johnsons tenure.
of particular interest to me in this book was Nixons development during the late 1950s to early 1970s during his years prior to becoming president being a supporter of civil rights and vigorously appealing to black voters during the 1960 election; however, having only won 33% of the black vote it that election and seeing untapped potential in the south he adopted the southern strategy for the 1968 election tacitly supporting civil rights but appealing primarily to what he called the 'silent majority' who opposed busing and other forms of forced integration. this policy switch completely changed both the democratic and republican parties and the successive electoral strategies.
One aspect I found Farrell playing into far too often is the rise and fall mythos that surrounds many characters like Nixon. the narrative often coming across as Nixon being a kind and resilient youth who had mostly positive force in politics in his early years citing many of his achievements but then later become more morally bankrupt during his years in office leading to his downfall with Watergate. during the first half of the book Farrel often leaps praise upon Nixon but then villainises him quite vigourously during the final chapters this narrative seems and indeed is too tidy and, although it makes for compelling reading, is, in my opinion, a misrepresentation of Nixon's story, given his good and bad qualities having been quite consistent throughout his public life.
Watergate the defining moment of Nixon's presidency, was covered extremely well, covering the seeds of the disaster, such as the hiring of officials such as Bob Halderman and John Ehrlichman in addition to his loose rhetoric regarding spying and investigating Democrats. The book shows his and the administration's concerned initial reaction and cover-up as well as his increased paranoia and stress from the situation.
On the whole, the book is quite balanced, albeit at times having a slight negative bias and delves into the human and often unseen side of Nixon, such as his relationships with his wife and daughters and the emotional support they gave him throughout his presidency. Farrel also touches on his psyche such as his Deep insecurities, especially from those whom he described as Ivy League types as well as the origins of his drive for hard work and win-at-all-cost mentality.
One of my favourite chapters was 'I had to win' as this campaign during 1946 was not only the start of his political career and a close-fought campaign but also perfectly demonstrated the characteristics that brought him so far in politics. Working tirelessly campaigning and raising funds on top of utilising a form of attack politics that would define modern politics campaigning something which he demonstrated countless times in debates with Voorhis and during adverts.
This was a superb look at the complex life and character of Richard Nixon, which gives fantastic insight into his relationships, struggles, accomplishments and demons; giving a detailed account of his life, especially in his early years. a truly commendable endeavour that must have taken a tremendous amount of time to research and write.
Recently I'd become quite interested in Nixon, especially after listening to a number of his tapes on the Nixon archives and this book looked like the perfect option to get a full and unbiased account of his life. In short this biography was exceptional and gave me a great understanding not only of the key events in his life but also his psychological mindset which gave him such success (and failures) in his life.
The book recounts Nixon's early life in California where he grew up on a farm in a Quaker household, unlike a number of more recent presidents Nixon grew up in poverty often having no shoes to wear and having to survive on a merger amount of food. Two of his brothers died young something that left a deep imprint on Nixon. his father was a notorious philanderer who often beat Nixon when he misbehaved and was a key contributor in Nixon's unique blend of conservatism. His mother on the other hand was diligent, always making sure her children looked respectable but emotionally distant.
Nixon enrolled in Wittier College and then went on to law school until WW2 where he enrolled and served in the Pacific as part of the navy. after the war in 1946 he took his first steps in politics when he was selected by the Republicans to run for Congress in California against the incumbent Democrat Voorhis. During the campaign he consolidated his win-at-all-cost political mindset, attacking Voorhis as a communist and trouncing him during multiple debates. During his years as a congressman, he was a leading figure in the creation and functioning of the HUAC, gaining nationwide recognition for successfully prosecuting Alger Hiss. He was nominated to be the Republican Vice President by Eisenhower in 1952 but was nearly forced to resign after mounting pressure over nefarious management of campaign finances, however, he was able to save his career with a televised speech that became known as the 'checkers' speech. After a relatively successful and at times contentious eight years as Vice President, he was nominated by the Republican Party for president in 1960, a highly competitive contest between two young candidates with the first televised debate in history. Nixon lost the election but made an unprecedented political comeback by eventually winning the presidency in 1968. Most of the first term was dominated by the Vietnam War (which he slowly scaled involvement in), as well as the opening up of China to the rest of the world. In his second term he was hampered by the Watergate scandal, and his mishandling of the situation including his attempted cover up caused him to resign in 1974 in disgrace. the remainder of his life he was mostly a distant spectator to world affairs and spent a great deal of his time writing many accounts of his years as president and spending time with his growing family before passing away in 1994.
Farrel in mostly fair in the assessment of Nixon's achievements and failures such as his advocacy of environmental protection creating and heavily funding the EPA. Farrel also discusses Nixon's role in the Vietnam war and the administration's many attempts at desolation and diplomatic compromise. the prelude and eventual visit to China is covered very well with a deep focus on the behind the scenes efforts from Kissinger and
in contrast he also covers in detail the many corruption allegations against Nixon such as of course the Watergate wiretappings and associated thefts and break-ins as well as mismanaged campaign finances, tax avoidance and his attempts to scuttle a peace deal in Vietnam during Johnsons tenure.
of particular interest to me in this book was Nixons development during the late 1950s to early 1970s during his years prior to becoming president being a supporter of civil rights and vigorously appealing to black voters during the 1960 election; however, having only won 33% of the black vote it that election and seeing untapped potential in the south he adopted the southern strategy for the 1968 election tacitly supporting civil rights but appealing primarily to what he called the 'silent majority' who opposed busing and other forms of forced integration. this policy switch completely changed both the democratic and republican parties and the successive electoral strategies.
One aspect I found Farrell playing into far too often is the rise and fall mythos that surrounds many characters like Nixon. the narrative often coming across as Nixon being a kind and resilient youth who had mostly positive force in politics in his early years citing many of his achievements but then later become more morally bankrupt during his years in office leading to his downfall with Watergate. during the first half of the book Farrel often leaps praise upon Nixon but then villainises him quite vigourously during the final chapters this narrative seems and indeed is too tidy and, although it makes for compelling reading, is, in my opinion, a misrepresentation of Nixon's story, given his good and bad qualities having been quite consistent throughout his public life.
Watergate the defining moment of Nixon's presidency, was covered extremely well, covering the seeds of the disaster, such as the hiring of officials such as Bob Halderman and John Ehrlichman in addition to his loose rhetoric regarding spying and investigating Democrats. The book shows his and the administration's concerned initial reaction and cover-up as well as his increased paranoia and stress from the situation.
On the whole, the book is quite balanced, albeit at times having a slight negative bias and delves into the human and often unseen side of Nixon, such as his relationships with his wife and daughters and the emotional support they gave him throughout his presidency. Farrel also touches on his psyche such as his Deep insecurities, especially from those whom he described as Ivy League types as well as the origins of his drive for hard work and win-at-all-cost mentality.
One of my favourite chapters was 'I had to win' as this campaign during 1946 was not only the start of his political career and a close-fought campaign but also perfectly demonstrated the characteristics that brought him so far in politics. Working tirelessly campaigning and raising funds on top of utilising a form of attack politics that would define modern politics campaigning something which he demonstrated countless times in debates with Voorhis and during adverts.
This was a superb look at the complex life and character of Richard Nixon, which gives fantastic insight into his relationships, struggles, accomplishments and demons; giving a detailed account of his life, especially in his early years. a truly commendable endeavour that must have taken a tremendous amount of time to research and write.
mkesten's review against another edition
5.0
In John Farrell’s compelling biography of Richard Nixon we are reminded that the US Supreme court ruled that Executive Privilege allowed the President to conceal documents for national security purposes unless the intent was to conceal illegal acts.
Over the next few days we will learn if the Senate considers extortion of a foreign leader rises to the threshold of an impeachable act, but this Senate will not subpoena either witnesses or executive documents to convict or exonerate President Donald J. Trump.
What would Richard Nixon have thought of Trump’s activities? He very likely he would have done the same thing and considered himself above the law. And it very well could be where Trump got the idea.
And Richard Nixon would have considered both himself and Trump more casualties in the long and sordid history of presidential dirty tricks, including the theft of the 1960 election by John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, and the more recent theft of the 2000 election by the Republican-dominated Florida Supreme Court.
“They” are out to get me, Nixon believed. But then again, in Washington “getting” people is a time-honored sport.
Nixon, as you may recall, was forced out of the Presidency by his own party after investigators got their hands on “the smoking gun,” transcripts of Oval Office tapes in which Nixon made it clear he was part of the coverup of the Watergate break-ins. And obstructed justice. And tried to get the CIA to interfere in FBI investigations.
Nixon maintained that he was fingered because he was a bastard — the only thing he owned up to. That if he was part of the establishment he would have gotten a pass.
Of course, Nixon had a long history of being a bastard. It helped him get elected to the House of Representatives and later the Senate. And it really helped him become Eisenhower’s running-mate in the 1952 presidential election.
He was a red-baiter and later on as President initiated bombing campaigns in North Vietnam and Cambodia. And he kiboshed talks to end the war in Vietnam to secure his Presidential bid in 1968. He also did little to halt the murder and displacement of millions of East Pakistanis in what would eventually become Bangladesh.
And as dirty as American national politics could get, that didn’t compare with the dirty tricks in foreign policy like (Nixon and Kissinger)toppling a duly elected Chilean President, (Kennedy) engineering the murder of a S. Vietnamese leader and coup in that country, (Truman) dropping A-bombs on two Japanese cities, (Eisenhower) deposing the elected leader of Iran, (Kennedy) hiring Mafia assassins to poison Fidel Castro, and the (Eisenhower) ousting of Guatemala’s democratically-elected President Jacobo Arbenz.
Donald Trump’s assassination of Qasem Soleimani hearkens back to the good ole days when the ends always justified the means. It’s as if the 1975 Senate Select (Church) Committee on abuses perpetrated by US intelligence agencies never existed.
And, as we know from the Edward Snowden revelations, the tradition established by J. Edgar Hoover and others surveillance of American citizens (yes, it was the Kennedys who ordered the bugging of ML King’s boudoir) continues with massive surveillance of American citizens through social media, cellphone tower pings, and facebook.
Ironically, Nixon didn’t need the dirty tricks in his re-election campaign in 1972 any more than George W. needed the Patriot Act to subdue Al-Qaeda. (Or takedown Saddam Husain for that matter). The Democrats fumbled their own campaign, and one can wonder if they aren’t doing it again.
But Nixon wasn’t all villain. As Vice-President he worked hard to help integrate the schools after Brown v. Board of Education and the stand-off at Little Rock. And as President he worked to implement the now discredited program of bussing minorities to schools.
He created the Environmental Protection Agency, signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty with the Soviet Union, and stymied his Soviet adversaries by opening up US relations with Communist China.
Fifty years after the “China Opening” might be a good time to reflect on its impact. For one thing, it reduced the likelihood of a nuclear holocaust. But it also eventually resulted in China joining the World Trade Organization and a massive transfer of wealth from the West to the East.
Good for poverty-stricken Chinese.
Not so good for Rust Belt America.
Like Lyndon Johnson, Nixon came from nothing. He was a colleague of the red-baiting Sen. Joseph McCarthy, and at the outset a friend of John Kennedy.
In spite of a deep inferiority complex (or maybe because of it) he married a beautiful woman and scraped his way to the top of the pile.
They all hated Tricky Dick (a sobriquet he picked up very early in his career), but they couldn’t ignore him.
The moral of the story is that a little paranoia can take you quite far in American government.
In another of life’s little ironies Nixon didn’t live long enough to learn that CIA official Mark Felt was Woodward and Bernstein’s Deep Throat source. When Felt himself ran afoul of lawmakers Nixon defended him against his critics. I’m sure it was no accident that Felt kept this secret almost to his own grave.
This is a wonderful telling of the story and not without some colourful editorializing by the author. I hope somebody turns it into a Richard III for our age. Now that I think about it, somebody probably has.
Over the next few days we will learn if the Senate considers extortion of a foreign leader rises to the threshold of an impeachable act, but this Senate will not subpoena either witnesses or executive documents to convict or exonerate President Donald J. Trump.
What would Richard Nixon have thought of Trump’s activities? He very likely he would have done the same thing and considered himself above the law. And it very well could be where Trump got the idea.
And Richard Nixon would have considered both himself and Trump more casualties in the long and sordid history of presidential dirty tricks, including the theft of the 1960 election by John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, and the more recent theft of the 2000 election by the Republican-dominated Florida Supreme Court.
“They” are out to get me, Nixon believed. But then again, in Washington “getting” people is a time-honored sport.
Nixon, as you may recall, was forced out of the Presidency by his own party after investigators got their hands on “the smoking gun,” transcripts of Oval Office tapes in which Nixon made it clear he was part of the coverup of the Watergate break-ins. And obstructed justice. And tried to get the CIA to interfere in FBI investigations.
Nixon maintained that he was fingered because he was a bastard — the only thing he owned up to. That if he was part of the establishment he would have gotten a pass.
Of course, Nixon had a long history of being a bastard. It helped him get elected to the House of Representatives and later the Senate. And it really helped him become Eisenhower’s running-mate in the 1952 presidential election.
He was a red-baiter and later on as President initiated bombing campaigns in North Vietnam and Cambodia. And he kiboshed talks to end the war in Vietnam to secure his Presidential bid in 1968. He also did little to halt the murder and displacement of millions of East Pakistanis in what would eventually become Bangladesh.
And as dirty as American national politics could get, that didn’t compare with the dirty tricks in foreign policy like (Nixon and Kissinger)toppling a duly elected Chilean President, (Kennedy) engineering the murder of a S. Vietnamese leader and coup in that country, (Truman) dropping A-bombs on two Japanese cities, (Eisenhower) deposing the elected leader of Iran, (Kennedy) hiring Mafia assassins to poison Fidel Castro, and the (Eisenhower) ousting of Guatemala’s democratically-elected President Jacobo Arbenz.
Donald Trump’s assassination of Qasem Soleimani hearkens back to the good ole days when the ends always justified the means. It’s as if the 1975 Senate Select (Church) Committee on abuses perpetrated by US intelligence agencies never existed.
And, as we know from the Edward Snowden revelations, the tradition established by J. Edgar Hoover and others surveillance of American citizens (yes, it was the Kennedys who ordered the bugging of ML King’s boudoir) continues with massive surveillance of American citizens through social media, cellphone tower pings, and facebook.
Ironically, Nixon didn’t need the dirty tricks in his re-election campaign in 1972 any more than George W. needed the Patriot Act to subdue Al-Qaeda. (Or takedown Saddam Husain for that matter). The Democrats fumbled their own campaign, and one can wonder if they aren’t doing it again.
But Nixon wasn’t all villain. As Vice-President he worked hard to help integrate the schools after Brown v. Board of Education and the stand-off at Little Rock. And as President he worked to implement the now discredited program of bussing minorities to schools.
He created the Environmental Protection Agency, signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty with the Soviet Union, and stymied his Soviet adversaries by opening up US relations with Communist China.
Fifty years after the “China Opening” might be a good time to reflect on its impact. For one thing, it reduced the likelihood of a nuclear holocaust. But it also eventually resulted in China joining the World Trade Organization and a massive transfer of wealth from the West to the East.
Good for poverty-stricken Chinese.
Not so good for Rust Belt America.
Like Lyndon Johnson, Nixon came from nothing. He was a colleague of the red-baiting Sen. Joseph McCarthy, and at the outset a friend of John Kennedy.
In spite of a deep inferiority complex (or maybe because of it) he married a beautiful woman and scraped his way to the top of the pile.
They all hated Tricky Dick (a sobriquet he picked up very early in his career), but they couldn’t ignore him.
The moral of the story is that a little paranoia can take you quite far in American government.
In another of life’s little ironies Nixon didn’t live long enough to learn that CIA official Mark Felt was Woodward and Bernstein’s Deep Throat source. When Felt himself ran afoul of lawmakers Nixon defended him against his critics. I’m sure it was no accident that Felt kept this secret almost to his own grave.
This is a wonderful telling of the story and not without some colourful editorializing by the author. I hope somebody turns it into a Richard III for our age. Now that I think about it, somebody probably has.
jeremyanderberg's review against another edition
5.0
“Nixon would have been recorded as being a very great president had it not been for the fatal character flaw. He did not believe in anything.”
Few of my 2020 reads have been as arresting as John Farrell’s biography of Richard Nixon. (Yes, the incarceration pun is intended.) I had a hard time putting it down and devoured all 550+ pages in about a week. When I closed the back cover I wished it had been longer, while also feeling like I had a good sense of the man’s life. That’s about as tall a task as there is in the world of biography.
Nixon came from humble beginnings and was always a pretty odd figure. He was bookish, prudish, not particularly likable. Winning, along with fitting in and being liked by the cool kids, was always terribly important to his well-being and psyche. This led to paranoia, and ultimately, of course, his downfall.
Throughout much of the book, Farrell actually portrays Nixon pretty sympathetically. You can’t help but feel for the guy. Richard was incredibly intelligent and even did good work—often great work—for his constituents, and yet very early on in his career became okay with using less than savory methodologies to achieve his goals.
Like the great arc of how it played out in real life, Farrell builds and builds to what everyone is waiting for: Watergate. The eminent biographer covers it masterfully, finding the perfect balance of which details to include and where to skip over the minutiae. Nixon really thought he’d get away with it all and be able to sweep the lying and deceit and criminal activity under the rug—it was a slow burn, until it wasn’t.
I can’t recommend Richard Nixon: The Life highly enough. This is definitely a book that can be read by a far wider audience than just POTUS enthusiasts. The anti-leadership lessons found within are remarkable, plus it’s just a really well-told and compelling story.
Few of my 2020 reads have been as arresting as John Farrell’s biography of Richard Nixon. (Yes, the incarceration pun is intended.) I had a hard time putting it down and devoured all 550+ pages in about a week. When I closed the back cover I wished it had been longer, while also feeling like I had a good sense of the man’s life. That’s about as tall a task as there is in the world of biography.
Nixon came from humble beginnings and was always a pretty odd figure. He was bookish, prudish, not particularly likable. Winning, along with fitting in and being liked by the cool kids, was always terribly important to his well-being and psyche. This led to paranoia, and ultimately, of course, his downfall.
Throughout much of the book, Farrell actually portrays Nixon pretty sympathetically. You can’t help but feel for the guy. Richard was incredibly intelligent and even did good work—often great work—for his constituents, and yet very early on in his career became okay with using less than savory methodologies to achieve his goals.
Like the great arc of how it played out in real life, Farrell builds and builds to what everyone is waiting for: Watergate. The eminent biographer covers it masterfully, finding the perfect balance of which details to include and where to skip over the minutiae. Nixon really thought he’d get away with it all and be able to sweep the lying and deceit and criminal activity under the rug—it was a slow burn, until it wasn’t.
I can’t recommend Richard Nixon: The Life highly enough. This is definitely a book that can be read by a far wider audience than just POTUS enthusiasts. The anti-leadership lessons found within are remarkable, plus it’s just a really well-told and compelling story.
grs909's review against another edition
4.0
Tricky Dicky - whether you liked him, hated him, remember him or not, this is a good book about him. And a long one, too.
icgerrard's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent exploration of how Nixon brought about his own downfall in an almost perfect classical tragedy.