Being Nixon Being Nixon

Being Nixon

A Man Divided

    • 4.1 • 39 Ratings
    • $14.99
    • $14.99

Publisher Description

The landmark New York Times bestselling biography of Richard M. Nixon, a political savant whose gaping character flaws would drive him from the presidency and forever taint his legacy. 

“A biography of eloquence and breadth . . . No single volume about Nixon’s long and interesting life could be so comprehensive.”—Chicago Tribune

One of Time’s Top 10 Nonfiction Books of the Year

In this revelatory biography, Evan Thomas delivers a radical, unique portrait of America’s thirty-seventh president, Richard Nixon, a contradictory figure who was both determinedly optimistic and tragically flawed. One of the principal architects of the modern Republican Party and its “silent majority” of disaffected whites and conservative ex-Dixiecrats, Nixon was also deemed a liberal in some quarters for his efforts to desegregate Southern schools, create the Environmental Protection Agency, and end the draft.

The son of devout Quakers, Richard Nixon (not unlike his rival John F. Kennedy) grew up in the shadow of an older, favored brother and thrived on conflict and opposition. Through high school and college, in the navy and in politics, Nixon was constantly leading crusades and fighting off enemies real and imagined. He possessed the plainspoken eloquence to reduce American television audiences to tears with his career-saving “Checkers” speech; meanwhile, Nixon’s darker half hatched schemes designed to take down his political foes, earning him the notorious nickname “Tricky Dick.” Drawing on a wide range of historical accounts, Thomas’s biography reveals the contradictions of a leader whose vision and foresight led him to achieve détente with the Soviet Union and reestablish relations with communist China, but whose underhanded political tactics tainted his reputation long before the Watergate scandal.

A deeply insightful character study as well as a brilliant political biography, Being Nixon offers a surprising look at a man capable of great bravery and extraordinary deviousness—a balanced portrait of a president too often reduced to caricature.

Praise for Being Nixon

“Terrifically engaging . . . a fair, insightful and highly entertaining portrait.”The Wall Street Journal

“Thomas has a fine eye for the telling quote and the funny vignette, and his style is eminently readable.”The New York Times Book Review

GENRE
Biographies & Memoirs
RELEASED
2015
June 16
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
640
Pages
PUBLISHER
Random House Publishing Group
SELLER
Penguin Random House LLC
SIZE
20.2
MB

Customer Reviews

Joeboo203 ,

Very well written.

Covered his early life, rise through the political ranks and presidency, (including Watergate and the Vietnam War) really well. The author gives a balanced look at Nixon, pointing out both the good and the bad. I wish he would have gone into Nixon’s role in the start of the war on drugs, one of the most consequential parts of his presidency. That was barely mentioned.

JCWeasley ,

Well, well

The biggest surprise about this book is that Evan Thomas wrote it. Unbelievable.

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