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Richard Nixon: The Life
| Title | Richard Nixon: The Life |
| Writer | |
| Date | 2024-10-09 18:52:39 |
| Type | |
| Link | Listen Read |
Desciption
Brilliantly researched, authoritatively crafted by a prize-winning biographer, this is the Nixon we've been waiting for. Richard Nixon opens with young navy lieutenant "Nick" Nixon returning from the Pacific and setting his cap at Congress, an idealistic dreamer seeking to build a better world. Yet amid the turns of that now legendary 1946 campaign, Nixon's finer attributes quickly gave way to unapologetic ruthlessness. It is a stunning overture to John A. Farrell's magisterial portrait of a man who embodied postwar American cynicism. Within four years of that first win, Nixon would be a US senator, in six the vice president of the United States of America. "Few came so far, so fast, and so alone," Farrell writes. Finally president, Nixon's staff was full of bright young men who devised forward-thinking reforms addressing health care, poverty, civil rights, and protection of the environment. It was a fine legacy, but Nixon cared little for it. He aspired to make his mark on the world stage instead, and his 1972 opening to China was the first great crack in the Cold War. Nixon had another legacy, too: an America divided and polarized. It was Nixon who launched the McCarthy era, who set South against North, and who spurred the silent majority to despise and distrust the country's elites. He persuaded Americans to gnaw, as he did, on grievances - and to look at one another as enemies. Finally, in August 1974, after two years of the mesmerizing intrigue and scandal known as Watergate, Nixon became the only president to resign in disgrace. Richard Nixon is an enthralling tour de force biography of our darkest president, one that reviewers will hail as a defining portrait, and the full life of Nixon listeners have awaited. Read more
Review
Would Richard Nixon tweet? How would John Farrell answer this question after writing Richard Nixon: A Life? Or how would you answer this question after reading this perspective on one of the most controversial politicians of the last fifty years. John Farrell does an excellent job illustrating the complexity of Richard Nixon and the issues he faced both personally and professionally during his lifetime. Mr. Farrell's presentation of Richard Nixon’s challenges and adversities before, during, and after he was Dwight Eisenhower's vice president, and later as president, are presented in a very readable and engaging manner, letting the reader feel the issues and tension. The reader is left to draw his or her own conclusions and see how circumstances and events shaped Richard Nixon’s life. I particularly was enlightened to learn of the important role Eisenhower and Nixon played as champions of civil rights during the 50's in the face of resistance by Southern Democrats. As someone who lived through the Nixon presidency and who has now read John Farrell's thoughtful perspective, I enjoyed the balanced presentation and the frank comments about the era’s opposition media and partisan politics. So, how would you answer the question, would Richard Nixon tweet...it depends on the lens you read this book through. If you intensely dislike or hate the current administration, your answer will be a resounding yes, as you will look for and focus on similarities between Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. On the other hand, others will see a more sympathetic look at a complex man and his policy accomplishments in areas such as civil rights, the environment, and foreign policy, along with errors he made in judgment and leadership. Although, whatever your political perspective, this informative and well-written work will not disappoint you.
