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amarj33t_5ingh's review against another edition
5.0
The sun of a thousand virtues can be cloaked by one night of vice
And thus it was with Robert Nixon, the 37th President of the United States and the only president ever to resign from his office.
Farrell's virtue, in this book, lies in his crafting of a very endearing biography of Robert Nixon while also factually portraying his notoriously premier role in the Watergate Scandal which brought about his downfall. He charts Nixon's early poverty-stricken years; his military service and meteoric rise as Congress elect and budding Senator during the McCarthy era.
The reader is treated to a frontline seat as Nixon clinches the Vice Presidency from Eisenhower; almost forfeits it and then fights to retain it as well as his absolution in the form of his leading the Republicans to victory post-Kennedy.
Then, Farrell takes a dark turn and logically so. Based on primary material we witness the real Nixon. The groundbreaking statesman who forces Russia to a treaty and re-introduces isolationist China to the world but also a deeply suspicious and vitriolic man intoxicated by the power bequeathed to him. We journey to the dizzying heights of the Watergate edifice which has Nixon's insecurities about journalists and opponents in full glare; his over-excessive reaction to the Pentagon Papers scandal and his obfuscation of himself with the powers of an executive until he recognizes no limit to himself. Statesman but also an insecure human being with profound sadness permeating his life-Farrell makes a convincing case for the fact that had it not been for his missteps in his reaction to Watergate leaking, Nixon would today have been invoked as one of the USA's finest Presidents.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Farrell's narration of Nixon's life which is laced with considerable wit. It does not detract from Nixon as a warm human and neither does it pillory him for Watergate. Rather, it leaves that ultimate decision to the reader. I confess that I did not put this book down until bedtime. A mesmerizing and memorable read with considerably important lessons for all of us today.
And thus it was with Robert Nixon, the 37th President of the United States and the only president ever to resign from his office.
Farrell's virtue, in this book, lies in his crafting of a very endearing biography of Robert Nixon while also factually portraying his notoriously premier role in the Watergate Scandal which brought about his downfall. He charts Nixon's early poverty-stricken years; his military service and meteoric rise as Congress elect and budding Senator during the McCarthy era.
The reader is treated to a frontline seat as Nixon clinches the Vice Presidency from Eisenhower; almost forfeits it and then fights to retain it as well as his absolution in the form of his leading the Republicans to victory post-Kennedy.
Then, Farrell takes a dark turn and logically so. Based on primary material we witness the real Nixon. The groundbreaking statesman who forces Russia to a treaty and re-introduces isolationist China to the world but also a deeply suspicious and vitriolic man intoxicated by the power bequeathed to him. We journey to the dizzying heights of the Watergate edifice which has Nixon's insecurities about journalists and opponents in full glare; his over-excessive reaction to the Pentagon Papers scandal and his obfuscation of himself with the powers of an executive until he recognizes no limit to himself. Statesman but also an insecure human being with profound sadness permeating his life-Farrell makes a convincing case for the fact that had it not been for his missteps in his reaction to Watergate leaking, Nixon would today have been invoked as one of the USA's finest Presidents.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Farrell's narration of Nixon's life which is laced with considerable wit. It does not detract from Nixon as a warm human and neither does it pillory him for Watergate. Rather, it leaves that ultimate decision to the reader. I confess that I did not put this book down until bedtime. A mesmerizing and memorable read with considerably important lessons for all of us today.
bird_smuggler's review against another edition
5.0
I think one could properly call this, if not the pinnacle of Nixon biographies, an approximation. Everything you will want is here, with plenty of information, some rational analysis, a mostly neutral tone that examines the man's folly and his prudence; the contrasting character traits of one of the most reviled men in American political canon, he who set the trends that would go on to consume us through the present era. A truly impeccable work and a pleasure to read - insofar as anything about Nixon can be a pleasure to read.
caitastrophe's review against another edition
5.0
With new writings from H.R. Haldeman, John Dean, and Alexander Haig, "Richard Nixon: The Life" fully justifies both its existence and its status as the definitive Nixon biography. John A. Farrell manages to humanize and empathize with his subject without absolving him, and the resulting psychological and political portraits are fascinating. I was especially interested in the newly uncovered information on Anna Chenault.
Farrell didn't know who would be president in 2017 when he published this biography, but the fact it's another media-bashing, self-pitying man who plays on populist resentment makes this interesting book even more relevant. I can't say enough positive things!
Farrell didn't know who would be president in 2017 when he published this biography, but the fact it's another media-bashing, self-pitying man who plays on populist resentment makes this interesting book even more relevant. I can't say enough positive things!
lauraellis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Very well-written, rational, evenhanded biography of a talented but troubled president who is frequently viewed as a traitor and who betrayed his oath and the Constitution through Watergate, but also accomplished some very good things during his Presidency, either affirmatively in foreign affairs, such as the original SALT treaty with the former USSR, his trip to China, and ending the Vietnam War (albeit for the same terms he could have achieved four years previously, thus being responsible for millions of lives, American and Southeast Asian) or more passively, such as civil rights and poverty-prevention programs. According to historians, he was the one of two presidents who contributed the most to the desegregation of schools as he enforced the law against de jure segregation in the South. But he did not publicize this, but very publicly demonstrated through coded language that he supported Northern and other whites fight not to bus children or take other measures to desegregate schools that were segregated due to practice, red-lining, or other practices. He was not from the Conservative Goldwater-Reagan-Trump wing of his party, but he was an anti-semite, was prejudiced against many groups, and he was someone who was willing to lie or break the rules to obtain power right from his earliest contested elections, e.g., his first race, against Rep. Jerry Voorhis; his race against Helen Gahagan Douglas. He was capable of great kindnesses, and in his earlier years he was admired by African-Americans such as Rev. Martin Luther King and Jackie Robinson, but over time, beginning with the election of 1960, he lost their respect and backing due to his refusal to publicly support African-Americans in their fight for civil rights. Overall, while he did have some admirable accomplishments, I still believe that he was not a good man and he did many things that I believe were wrong in his career, including his foiling of Johnson’s attempts to resolve the Vietnam War, his prolongation of the Vietnam War, and, of course, Watergate and all that surrounded it. Also, many of his principles and guiding beliefs were not ones I share.
weejane's review against another edition
4.0
This was an incredibly sympathetic biography of Nixon, but fair. It pointed out his flaws but also portrayed him as a tragic figure. Based on other reading I've done, I'm not sure he's as blameless for Watergate as the author makes it sounds.