Scan barcode
A review by checkers09
Richard Nixon: The Life by John A. Farrell
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.