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A review by amarj33t_5ingh
Richard Nixon: The Life by John A. Farrell
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.