A review by galaxybanjo
Being Nixon: A Man Divided by Evan Thomas

5.0

A deeply thought-provoking analysis on one of the most complicated and esoteric presidents in modern history. Being Nixon: A Man Divided is arguably not so much a full-fledged biography as it is a hybrid biography/character study on the 37th President of the United States. Evan Thomas takes on the titanic task of attempting a deep dive on Nixon the human being, and contextualizing his greatly flawed presidency. The story is largely one of tragedy, and anyone who picks up this book will likely already know that things don't end well for Nixon, but for perhaps the first time, I feel that I at least partially understand him. To say that I sympathize with him may be going a tad too far, but I can now confidently say that my take on Nixon's presidency and the Watergate scandal goes much deeper than a simple "well, he was just kind of a weirdo." As the book focuses mostly on Nixon's presidency, and the chapters covering his vice presidency, time in congress, etc. feel somewhat rushed and bereft of detail, I would hesitate to recommend this as someone's first Nixon biography, but it is an excellent read for someone who already knows a thing or two about Nixon, and wants to take their knowledge to the next level.