Book Description
From the most highly respected analyst of foreign policy writing today, a story of wasted opportunity and squandered prestige: a critique of the last three U.S. presidents' foreign policy.
America's most distinguished commentator on foreign policy, former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, offers a reasoned but unsparing assessment of the last three presidential administrations' foreign policy. Though spanning less than two decades, these administrations cover a vitally important turning point in world history: the period in which the United States, having emerged from the Cold War with unprecedented power and prestige, managed to squander both in a remarkably short time. This is a tale of decline: from the competent but conventional thinking of the first Bush administration, to the well-intentioned self-indulgence of the Clinton administration, to the mortgaging of America's future by the "suicidal statecraft" of the second Bush administration. Brzezinski concludes with a chapter on how America can regain its lost prestige. This scholarly yet highly opinionated book is sure to be both controversial and influential.
Customer Reviews:
The idealism is better than the realism .......2007-08-29
Intelligence is no substitute for integrity. In surveying the world - situation and the role three U.S. Presidents had after the fall of the Soviet Union Brezinski fails to give prominent place to one major development he himself had considerable responsibility for i.e. the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. It was he who as Carter's foreign policy chief - advisor supervised the fall of the Shah in Iran, and did nothing to prevent the rise of the radical Islamic regime there. He also helped put into place the Mujadeen in Afghanistan, and they have been a key element in the rise of Global Islam worldwide.
In this book he focuses on what he considers the missed opportunities of the U.S. after the fall of the Soviet Union. He is especially critical of the current President.
Brezinski does have interesting things to say about current American weaknesses including the balance of payments problem, the problem of a loss of kind of moral discipline.
His idea of the United States leading mankind to a new era of dignity and freedom is a good one. And for his 'idealism' expressed most fully in the final chapter the book is worth reading.
DR. BRZEZINSKI SHOULD BE RUNNING THIS COUNTRY.......2007-07-25
I feel strongly, that this book says what most rational people in the "world!" are thinking. It is pure and clear truth. It could have been a lot less disasterous for our country, if Dr. Brzezinski could have tutored bush/cheney/rice, on how to lead a great nation with "integrity, honor and some backbone." Can we find a way for a man like Dr. Brzezinski,(who was born in Europe/Poland), to run for President?! Fantastic book! I read it in one sitting.
Second Chance: 3 presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower.......2007-07-21
Grim yet fairly non-biased assessment of the administrations since the fall of the wall. There is some hope at the end of the book, but it will take an extraordinary turn of events to keep America from losing its place in global stature.
His critical eye on the current administration is no nonsense and, sadly, accurate.
J'Accuse.......2007-07-08
This is nothing more than a scathing indictment on eight years of GWB misrule.
To distinguish his indictment from other partisan rhetoric, ZB has placed his argument in a much wider and rational perspective. He has reviewed also the missteps of the previous two US Presidents in the foreign policy arena, and the lost chances of securing and cementing a true global leadership position for USA.
What is so different with the current regime is of course not just a matter of lost chances but colossal cost to US interests abroad. Not to mention lack of any significant progress in any key domestic agenda issues to balance it all.
ZB tries to make the argument at the end that all is not lost, and US still has a chance to regain its leadership position following certain steps.
His argument is not very credible though. He ignores the fact that US, as a nation, thinks and feels very differently than the one of 50s and 60s which put US on a moral path to global leadership. Things are indeed different, and second chance seems to be wishful thinking mostly.
Writing is excellent as expected, delivery and reasoning forceful and complete. Interesting reading for those of us contemplating the next chapter.
Brilliant. A must read as we approach the future election they are boring us with ..........2007-06-28
I happen to hear this guy on Charlie Rose the other night and went out and bought his book. The book isnt as interesting as he is in an interview live but its well worth the read.
His analysis of the past three administrations is superb. It is balanced and I think offers great insight into the hits and misses of our leaders. He goes on to explain his views on the world post Russia and our missed opportunites. His close of post 2008 I would love to hear discussed by him and others.
An important book for this country. Get it and read it and act.
Book Description
With the publication of his magisterial biography of John F. Kennedy, An Unfinished Life, Robert Dallek cemented his reputation as one of the greatest historians of our time. Now, in this epic joint biography, he offers a provocative, groundbreaking portrait of a pair of outsize leaders whose unlikely partnership dominated the world stage and changed the course of history.
More than thirty years after working side-by-side in the White House, Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger remain two of the most compelling, contradictory, and powerful men in America in the second half of the twentieth century. While their personalities could hardly have seemed more different, they were drawn together by the same magnetic force. Both were largely self-made men, brimming with ambition, driven by their own inner demons, and often ruthless in pursuit of their goals. At the height of their power, the collaboration and rivalry between them led to a sweeping series of policies that would leave a defining mark on the Nixon presidency.
Tapping into a wealth of recently declassified archives, Robert Dallek uncovers fascinating details about Nixon and Kissinger's tumultuous personal relationship and the extent to which they struggled to outdo each other in the reach for achievements in foreign affairs. Dallek also brilliantly analyzes their dealings with power brokers at home and abroad—including the nightmare of Vietnam, the unprecedented opening to China, détente with the Soviet Union, the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East, the disastrous overthrow of Allende in Chile, and growing tensions between India and Pakistan—while recognizing how both men were continually plotting to distract the American public's attention from the growing scandal of Watergate. With unprecedented detail, Dallek reveals Nixon's erratic behavior during Watergate and the extent to which Kissinger was complicit in trying to help Nixon use national security to prevent his impeachment or resignation.
Illuminating, authoritative, revelatory, and utterly engrossing, Nixon and Kissinger provides a startling new picture of the immense power and sway these two men held in changing world history.
Customer Reviews:
Lots for research, but no "there" there at times, and some questionable analysis.......2007-09-27
The book seems to have plenty of snippets of research from the latest from the Nixon Library and Henry K himself. But, as other reviewers have also noted, it doesn't add a lot of new analysis to Nixon, Kissenger, or Nixon-Kissenger bios. The book could have been trimmed 200 pages (and lost 20 pages of footnotes as well), and maybe bumped up a star. Or, Dallek could have done more actual work, expanded it another 100 pages and have a worthwhile in-depth study. Instead, we get neither. (For example, there's just a handful of pages about relations with NATO allies, including almost nothing on their take on SALT talks.)
Beyond that, I have two historical analysis bones to pick, and one writing/copyeding one as well.
First, on page 76, Dallek claims that successful fall 1968 Vietnam peace talks would have been unlikely to change the election. HUH?
Given that Humphrey closed a double-digit percentage point gap in the final two weeks to the 0.7 percent of election day, that's a ludicrous argument. Heck, if LBJ had called the bombing halt on, say, Oct. 28 instead of Oct. 31, and gotten one more shred of "movement" from Hanoi before election day, HHH would have beaten Nixon.
Second, on page 511, Dallek claims that Chilean socialist president Salvador Allende would have been overthrown by his own ineptness even had Nixon/Kissenger not supported coup elements in various ways. For Dallek to say this without taking into account US economic pressure, or ITT meddling, is equally ludicrous to what he said about the 1968 election.
Finally, on the copyediting/writing side. Throughout the book, "State Department" is lower-cased as "state department," while "summit" and "junta," among other words, are consistently capitalized. This is not per Chicago style (at least not when I worked as a book publisher). I'm guessing it's some idiosyncrasy of Dallek's.
I had thought about three-starring this, but, what I said above, plus how I was able to skim this book so much, showing its amount of fluff, made me move it down a star.
Worth reading - An Inside Look.......2007-09-01
I liked this book. It gave a real inside view of two extremely complicated and powerful men. I came away not especially liking either one. Yet one could, to some extent, feel some sympathy for each. It takes a good writer to be able to illicit that in the reader. Dallek is a fine writer. You can trust what he pens. I recommend the book.
Author animous prejudices history.......2007-08-29
It is a pity that author Robert Dallek has allowed his personal animus, typical of many Nixon haters, to compromise almost every page of his book.
Dallek measures Nixon's views and actions with 20 / 20 hindsight rather than based on contemporary information and circumstances. In fact, Nixon's demonstrates great prescience and profundity in his early years as he struggles to lead the nation out of the inherited Viet Nam quagmire and to effectively deal with various major foreign policy challenges in order to safeguard the world against nuclear war.
We hear more of Dallek's criticism and psycho-babble than we hear of what Nixon and Kissinger were actually doing. So it is a task of shifting through pages to extract tid-bits of information.
When early in his administration Nixon makes a swing through Asia to become acquainted with and renew relationships with a dozen leaders, a typical Dallek comment is "The visits to Djakarta, Indonesia, and Bangkok, Thailand, were noteworthy only for heavy rains that drenched them to the skin, terrible heat that again left them 'dripping wet,' and delicious food. A quick four-and-a-half our visit to Saigon to discuss the war with Thieu and visit some U. S. troops accomplished nothing of importance."
Dallek clearly is an academic rather than someone with knowledge of business, diplomacy or politics to conclude that starting an administration by generating relationships and learning the views and positions of various heads of state is "nothing of importance."
Dallek severely faults Nixon for his desire to be well thought of in his own and future times, not recognizing that these are instincts that have motivated such great leaders such as George Washington, Winston Churchill, Douglas MacArthur and Charles DeGaulle.
Had Dallek saved his analysis for his final chapters, it would have been fair play and interesting, especially if he endeavored to support his views with citations. But as it is, "Nixon and Kissinger" reads as one long venomous hatchet job. I can only recommend it to students of history as an example of how not to write a book.
Only the Paranoid Survive!!.......2007-08-16
Your Jeopardy answer is "Nixon and Kissinger."
Buzzer. The question is "Name two paranoid, overweening, self-centered, sometimes delusional men who were responsible for US policy between 1968-1974."
As might be expected from historian Robert Dallek, he has written an interesting, often compelling book about two giants (some might say ogres) of 20th century US government.
Both men would probably claim that all of their actions were for the benefit of the United States, but Dallek shows convincingly that Nixon and Kissinger's priorities might be rated as 1) How will this help my public image? 2) Will this help my election prospects? and 3) oh yes, I nearly forget, this policy / action will be for the benefit of the United States. Visionary leadership was not a strong suit for either of these two men.
Whatever demons existed inside Richard Nixon, he trusted no one. Had Intel's Andy Grove not titled his book "Only the Paranoid Survive," this would be a perfect title for Dallek's work. Kissinger was of a similar mind set to Nixon and was involved in consistent internal warfare with other government colleagues especially Secretary of State Bill Rogers. He brought Al Haig to Paris peace talks because he "didn't trust him behind my back anymore." He was not the only one with similar views of Haig. One of Kissinger's staff said Haig was "excessively ambitious, manipulative, ingratiating, crafty, not at all intelligent, a dissembler and untrustworthy." These were people who truly deserved each other.
Nixon will forever be remembered for Watergate, but Robert Dallek does a good job in showing Nixon and Kissinger's drive for improved relations with both the Soviet Union and China.
The material on Vietnam and the peace discussions shows both parties - Vietnam and US, to be cynical and devious. Kissinger thought that dealing with two groups of Vietnamese "in the one day, you might as well run an insane asylum." In forcing South Vietnam to sign a peace treaty with the communist North Vietnam, neither Nixon nor Kissinger were under any illusions but that the treaty would ultimately lead to the complete surrender of South Vietnam.
The most interesting part of what is a good lengthy (623 pages, excluding notes) read is the profile of Nixon during the Watergate debacle. Dallek shows the president to be often very close to nervous and mental breakdown and goes so far as to suggest Nixon should have been asked to hand over the reins of power much earlier. Watergate broke Nixon. He drank to excess and was often a rambling, shambles of a man. Much of this personality was hidden from public view but his bitterness at the press surfaced at one conference when he declared he was not angry at the fourth estate - "You see, one can only be angry with those he respects." I bet that won him a lot of kudos with The New York Times!
Keen students of Nixon and Kissinger might suggest there is little new in the book, but if you are looking for an interesting oversight of two brilliant but flawed men, it is a very worthwhile and interesting read.
horrifying.......2007-08-15
In this worthy book Dallek chronicles the dysfunctional relationship between two very dysfunctional individuals who made foreign policy from 1968 to 1974. These were two aloof men with inferiority complexes who believed that they were right and everyone else was wrong and promply proceeded to prove the opposite. In this relationship can be found the tragically unnecessary prolonging of the Vietnam War, the unethical overthrowing of President Allende of Chile and other catastrophes of foreign policy.
No matter how many times Kissinger has tried to rationalize his time at the top or find excuses for Vietnam there are none save that he read the issues wrong and acted wrongly.
This book is a good argument for why foreign policy should be made by the State Department and not the National Security Adivsor and why foreign policy shouldn't be made at the desk in the Oval Office.
Book Description
At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.
The River of Doubt—it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron.
After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil’s most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever.
Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived.
From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelt’s life, here is Candice Millard’s dazzling debut.
Customer Reviews:
INCREDIBLE READ!!!!.......2007-10-21
What an incredible book, this is one from the moment I started reading I could not put down. BUY THE BOOK you will love it!!!
What an Adventure.......2007-10-18
What a great book. It is amazing to me that in the face of all the danger and near death experiences, these men continued to behave in the most civilized manor. Very inspiring for me.
river of doubt.......2007-10-06
This book was great, if you like adventure, exploration, or teddy roosevelt this is the book for you.
not boaring at all this book is awsome
A Gripping Tale of Men of Character.......2007-09-21
Oh, for a President who had even one tenth of the character and integrity of the Teddy Roosevelt portrayed in this book. This is a real-life version of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, but the central figure never loses his sense of dedication and honor. Although there is plenty of suspense, even horror, in the story, I found it to be ultimately quite inspiring.
Awesome.......2007-09-20
This book went into so much detail about TR's expedition in Brazil that is hardly mentioned in other books on his life. And what a story it is! I heartily recommend it to anyone.
Average customer rating:
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- TEAM OF RIVALS
- team of rivals
|
Team of Rivals
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
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ASIN: 0684824906
Release Date: 2005-10-25 |
Amazon.com
The life and times of Abraham Lincoln have been analyzed and dissected in countless books. Do we need another Lincoln biography? In Team of Rivals, esteemed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin proves that we do. Though she can't help but cover some familiar territory, her perspective is focused enough to offer fresh insights into Lincoln's leadership style and his deep understanding of human behavior and motivation. Goodwin makes the case for Lincoln's political genius by examining his relationships with three men he selected for his cabinet, all of whom were opponents for the Republican nomination in 1860: William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates. These men, all accomplished, nationally known, and presidential, originally disdained Lincoln for his backwoods upbringing and lack of experience, and were shocked and humiliated at losing to this relatively obscure Illinois lawyer. Yet Lincoln not only convinced them to join his administration--Seward as secretary of state, Chase as secretary of the treasury, and Bates as attorney general--he ultimately gained their admiration and respect as well. How he soothed egos, turned rivals into allies, and dealt with many challenges to his leadership, all for the sake of the greater good, is largely what Goodwin's fine book is about. Had he not possessed the wisdom and confidence to select and work with the best people, she argues, he could not have led the nation through one of its darkest periods.
Ten years in the making, this engaging work reveals why "Lincoln's road to success was longer, more tortuous, and far less likely" than the other men, and why, when opportunity beckoned, Lincoln was "the best prepared to answer the call." This multiple biography further provides valuable background and insights into the contributions and talents of Seward, Chase, and Bates. Lincoln may have been "the indispensable ingredient of the Civil War," but these three men were invaluable to Lincoln and they played key roles in keeping the nation intact. --Shawn Carkonen
The Team of Rivals
| Team of Rivals doesn't just tell the story of Abraham Lincoln. It is a multiple biography of the entire team of personal and political competitors that he put together to lead the country through its greatest crisis. Here, Doris Kearns Goodwin profiles five of the key players in her book, four of whom contended for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination and all of whom later worked together in Lincoln's cabinet. |
 |
1. Edwin M. Stanton
Stanton treated Lincoln with utter contempt at their initial acquaintance when the two men were involved in a celebrated law case in the summer of 1855. Unimaginable as it might seem after Stanton's demeaning behavior, Lincoln offered him "the most powerful civilian post within his gift"--the post of secretary of war--at their next encounter six years later. On his first day in office as Simon Cameron's replacement, the energetic, hardworking Stanton instituted "an entirely new regime" in the War Department. After nearly a year of disappointment with Cameron, Lincoln had found in Stanton the leader the War Department desperately needed. Lincoln's choice of Stanton revealed his singular ability to transcend personal vendetta, humiliation, or bitterness. As for Stanton, despite his initial contempt for the man he once described as a "long armed Ape," he not only accepted the offer but came to respect and love Lincoln more than any person outside of his immediate family. He was beside himself with grief for weeks after the president's death.
2. Salmon P. Chase
Chase, an Ohioan, had been both senator and governor, had played a central role in the formation of the national Republican Party, and had shown an unflagging commitment to the cause of the black man. No individual felt he deserved the presidency as a natural result of his past contributions more than Chase himself, but he refused to engage in the practical methods by which nominations are won. He had virtually no campaign and he failed to conciliate his many enemies in Ohio itself. As a result, he alone among the candidates came to the convention without the united support of his own state. Chase never ceased to underestimate Lincoln, nor to resent the fact that he had lost the presidency to a man he considered his inferior. His frustration with his position as secretary of the treasury was alleviated only by his his dogged hope that he, rather than Lincoln, would be the Republican nominee in 1864, and he steadfastly worked to that end. The president put up with Chase's machinations and haughty yet fundamentally insecure nature because he recognized his superlative accomplishments at treasury. Eventually, however, Chase threatened to split the Republican Party by continuing to fill key positions with partisans who supported his presidential hopes. When Lincoln stepped in, Chase tendered his resignation as he had three times before, but this time Lincoln stunned Chase by calling his bluff and accepting the offer.
3. Abraham Lincoln
When Lincoln won the Republican presidential nomination in 1860 he seemed to have come from nowhere--a backwoods lawyer who had served one undistinguished term in the House of Representatives and lost two consecutive contests for the U.S. Senate. Contemporaries attributed his surprising nomination to chance, to his moderate position on slavery, and to the fact that he hailed from the battleground state of Illinois. But Lincoln's triumph, particularly when viewed against the efforts of his rivals, owed much to a remarkable, unsuspected political acuity and an emotional strength forged in the crucible of hardship and defeat. That Lincoln, after winning the presidency, made the unprecedented decision to incorporate his eminent rivals into his political family, the cabinet, was evidence of an uncanny self-confidence and an indication of what would prove to others a most unexpected greatness.
4. William H. Seward
A celebrated senator from New York for more than a decade and governor of his state for two terms before going to Washington, Seward was certain he was going to receive his party's nomination for president in 1860. The weekend before the convention in Chicago opened he had already composed a first draft of the valedictory speech he expected to make to the Senate, assuming that he would resign his position as soon as the decision in Chicago was made. His mortification at not having received the nomination never fully abated, and when he was offered his cabinet post as secretary of state he intended to have a major role in choosing the remaining cabinet members, conferring upon himself a position in the new government more commanding than that of Lincoln himself. He quickly realized the futility of his plan to relegate the president to a figurehead role. Though the feisty New Yorker would continue to debate numerous issues with Lincoln in the years ahead, exactly as Lincoln had hoped and needed him to do, Seward would become his closest friend, advisor, and ally in the administration. More than any other cabinet member Seward appreciated Lincoln's peerless skill in balancing factions both within his administration and in the country at large.
5. Edward Bates
A widely respected elder statesman, a delegate to the convention that framed the Missouri Constitution, and a former Missouri congressman whose opinions on national matters were still widely sought, Bates's ambitions for political success were gradually displaced by love for his wife and large family, and he withdrew from public life in the late 1840s. For the next 20 years he was asked repeatedly to run or once again accept high government posts but he consistently declined. However in early 1860, with letters and newspaper editorials advocating his candidacy crowding in upon him, he decided to try for the highest office in the land. After losing to Lincoln he vowed, in his diary, to decline a cabinet position if one were to be offered, but with the country "in trouble and danger" he felt it was his duty to accept when Lincoln asked him to be attorney general. Though Bates initially viewed Lincoln as a well-meaning but incompetent administrator, he eventually concluded that the president was an unmatched leader, "very near being a 'perfect man.'" |
The Essential Doris Kearns Goodwin
Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir |
No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II |
Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream |
More New Reading on the Civil War
Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness by Joshua Wolf Shenk |
Grant and Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War by Charles Bracelen Flood |
The March: A Novel by E.L. Doctorow |
Book Description
Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from obscurity to prevail over three gifted rivals of national reputation to become president.
On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry.
Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war. That Lincoln succeeded, Goodwin demonstrates, was the result of a character that had been forged by experiences that raised him above his more privileged and accomplished rivals. He won because he possessed an extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience what they were feeling, to understand their motives and desires.
It was this capacity that enabled Lincoln as president to bring his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to the task of preserving the Union and winning the war.
We view the long, horrifying struggle from the vantage of the White House as Lincoln copes with incompetent generals, hostile congressmen, and his raucous cabinet. He overcomes these obstacles by winning the respect of his former competitors, and in the case of Seward, finds a loyal and crucial friend to see him through.
This brilliant multiple biography is centered on Lincoln's mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency in the nation's history.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic.......2007-10-19
This fine book transported me back in time. I was able to observe historical events as they unfolded. I now know Abraham Lincoln and his close associates. They will forever remain good friends of mine.
Excellent.......2007-10-17
Fast and reliable service, the book was in excellent condition. I would definitely order again from the seller.
Fantastic!.......2007-10-15
Excellnt book. I just wish that the author had continued on after Lincoln's death to discuss post-war reconstruction. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating look at Lincoln and his cabinet.
TEAM OF RIVALS.......2007-10-13
TEAM OF RIVALS IS AN EXCELLENT REPRESENTATION OF LINCOLN'S CABINET WHICH WAS CURIOUSLY MADE OF FOUR POLITICAL OPPONENTS AND THREE PARTISAN MEMBERS. DORIS KEARNS GODWIN, WELL KNOWN HISTORIAN, DESCRIBES THEIR BACKGROUNDS AND THEIR POLITICAL DIFFERENCES WHICH INVITES THE READER INTO THEIR CHARACTERS, POLICIES AND BACKGROUNDS. IT IS A NEW VIEW OF LINCOLN, AS WELL AS, HIS CABINET. IT IS SO INTERESTING THAT ALTHOUGH LONG, YOU WON'T WANT TO PUT IT DOWN.
team of rivals.......2007-10-05
great look at the inner workings of the executive branch This cabinet was hardly a "team". In comparison to the way cabinets members are selelected in our era of political, Lincoln showed incredible political courage to select this group.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
In retrospect, it seems as if the American Revolution was inevitable. But was it? In Founding Brothers, Joseph J. Ellis reveals that many of those truths we hold to be self-evident were actually fiercely contested in the early days of the republic.
Ellis focuses on six crucial moments in the life of the new nation, including a secret dinner at which the seat of the nation's capital was determined--in exchange for support of Hamilton's financial plan; Washington's precedent-setting Farewell Address; and the Hamilton and Burr duel. Most interesting, perhaps, is the debate (still dividing scholars today) over the meaning of the Revolution. In a fascinating chapter on the renewed friendship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson at the end of their lives, Ellis points out the fundamental differences between the Republicans, who saw the Revolution as a liberating act and hold the Declaration of Independence most sacred, and the Federalists, who saw the revolution as a step in the building of American nationhood and hold the Constitution most dear. Throughout the text, Ellis explains the personal, face-to-face nature of early American politics--and notes that the members of the revolutionary generation were conscious of the fact that they were establishing precedents on which future generations would rely.
In Founding Brothers, Ellis (whose American Sphinx won the National Book Award for nonfiction in 1997) has written an elegant and engaging narrative, sure to become a classic. Highly recommended. --Sunny Delaney
Book Description
In this landmark work of history, the National Book Award—winning author of American Sphinx explores how a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed individuals–Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison–confronted the overwhelming challenges before them to set the course for our nation.
The United States was more a fragile hope than a reality in 1790. During the decade that followed, the Founding Fathers–re-examined here as Founding Brothers–combined the ideals of the Declaration of Independence with the content of the Constitution to create the practical workings of our government. Through an analysis of six fascinating episodes–Hamilton and Burr’s deadly duel, Washington’s precedent-setting Farewell Address, Adams’ administration and political partnership with his wife, the debate about where to place the capital, Franklin’s attempt to force Congress to confront the issue of slavery and Madison’s attempts to block him, and Jefferson and Adams’ famous correspondence–
Founding Brothers brings to life the vital issues and personalities from the most important decade in our nation’s history.
Download Description
In this landmark work of history, the National Book Award-winning author of American Sphinx explores how a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed individuals -- Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison -- confronted the overwhelming challenges before them to set the course for our nation.
The United States was more a fragile hope than a reality in 1790. During the decade that followed, the Founding Fathers -- re-examined here as Founding Brothers -- combined the ideals of the Declaration of Independence with the content of the Constitution to create the practical workings of our government. Through an analysis of six fascinating episodes -- Hamilton and Burr's deadly duel, Washington's precedent-setting Farewell Address, Adams' administration and political partnership with his wife, the debate about where to place the capital, Franklin's attempt to force Congress to confront the issue of slavery and Madison's attempts to block him, and Jefferson and Adams' famous correspondence -- Founding Brothers brings to life the vital issues and personalities from the most important decade in our nation's history.
"A splendid book -- humane, learned, written with flair and radiant with a calm intelligence and wit."
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
"Lively and illuminating... leaves the reader with a visceral sense of a formative era in American life."
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Masterful.... Fascinating.... Ellis is an elegant stylist.... [He] captures the passion the founders brought to the revolutionary project.... [A] very fine book."
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"Learned, exceedingly well-written, and perceptive."
THE OREGONIAN
Customer Reviews:
Excellent look into the formation of a republic.......2007-10-05
This was a very good read for me. I found it interesting and enlightening. What jumped out most to me were the differing personalities and philosophies of America's early leaders. It was intriguing to read about the Virginia Dynasty and connection between Madison and Jefferson. It was also interesting to read about the various rivalries.
However, there are three things that really made and impression on me from this book.
First, was the reality that the United States of America as a unified, sovereign nation barely happened. Sometimes there is this illusion that America's emergence was divine and undeniable. This book really shoots that illusion down. There were so many differing positions and rival parties. Many were still loyal to the British crown. And even after independence was won the states themselves could barely find consensus. There were so many points of contention. There were so much division among the newly independent American statesmen. The fact there was enough consensus to forge a republic is nothihg short of amazing.
Second, was Washington's decision not to be president for life. His stepping down and allowing someone else to run and take office while he was still alive was very significant. It provided a great degree of credibility to a tenuous political framework that very well could have collapsed once he died. Many leaders, only thinking of themselves, want to remain in position for the rest of their lives at the expense of the organization. Leaders with vision understand the organization has to last long after they are gone. Washington showed great vision with this move.
Lastly, of all of the historical figures that make an impact in this read none do so quite like Alexander Hamilton. After reading this work I feel Hamilton may be the most overlooked founding American of them all. His push for a strong central government made him a mortal political enemy of Jefferson and Madison. As I read the book Hamilton's position for a strong central government and his persona really struck a cord. While Jefferson's dreams of pure libertarianism made for good theory, Hamilton's insistence on a strong central government to regulate commerce made good sense. This book gave me a new interest in Hamilton. I plan to read one of his biographies.
In all, it is a great account of a collection of extraordinary events and people. If you like history and politics (as I do) check this one out.
Not great.......2007-09-29
Pretty much the most boring book I have ever read. (I had to for school)
An excellent capsule view.............2007-09-12
...of the founding of our country. The founders were NOT a homogenous "band of brothers"; there were profound personal, political, philosophical and sectional differences, which somehow got worked out. This superb book looks at incidents and relationships, and how they affected the final product.
[1] The Duel...Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804. This was an anti-climax for Hamilton; his useful life was already over...he had betrayed George Washington politically, and had experienced too many scandals in his personal life. The apostle of centralized government had become irrelevent, and, as for Aaron Burr, he had way too many enemies. In fact, Jefferson and Adams, who were then estranged, both hated both Burr and Hamilton. Anyway, Hamilton died, and Burr might as well have....he went on to try to become Emperor Aaron I, ran afoul of Mr. Jefferson....but that's another story. Dueling was already illegal, and this about finished it, though isolated incidents would occur until the Civil War.
[2] The Dinner Table Bargain. How did Washington, DC, get to be our capital? Here's how....Southerners wanted the new capital in the South...Alexander Hamilton wanted the new Federal Government to assume state debts. Assumption and Location. Enter Thomas Jefferson...he invited Madison and Hamilton to dinner at his rented house in New York. Hamilton, who could have cared less where the capital got located, agreed to back Madison's choice of the malarial swamp where our capital is today. Madison agreed not to fight assumption, though he still wouldn't vote for it. Compromise....
[3] The Silence....over slavery. Many, especially Benjamin Franklin, wanted to end slvery with the ratification of The Constitution...the Southerners wouldn't go along, and the resultant compromise put the problem off for another 20 years, by which time the cotton gin had been invented...Shiloh...Sharpsburg...Chickamauga... I know, there was a LOT more that went into causing the Civil War, but....
[4] The Farewell....to George Washington. Washington retired at the end of his second term. He had profound problems [mainly with Congress] in the second term, and God knows that he had done his share, and more. Maybe he knew that he wouldn't survive a third term. The Farewell Address is one of the masterpieces of the English language; how much of it was Washington's work, and how much Alexander Hamilton's, remains a matter of conjecture....
[5] and [6]...Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Friends, collaborators in the invention of a nation...estranged over differences in politics...then, a final decision "not to die till we have explained ourselves to each other", which resulted in a wealth of letters that will be studied forever. Only God would have dared write the end...both died July 4, 1826, the 50th. anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. A writer of fiction would be dismissed as insane for such a thing...
Joseph Ellis is a treasure...biographies of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson [not written in that order] that are substantive enough for a historian, and short enough that any intelligent person can read them easily. Yes, others have gone deeper...but Douglas Southall Freeman needed seven long volumes for Washington, and Dumas Malone six for Jefferson. Ellis writes history that is "available"....and this MAY be his best work. I can't recommend it strongly enough....
Wonderful book.......2007-08-26
I have developed a fascination with some of the nations great men, and been reading books on them, curious to what makes them 'tick'. This book is really unique in that it gives a really interesting perspective not only on the men, but the dynamic between them. It has been some of my favorite reading. This book is very well written, and thoughts flow logically and cohesively. I think the author has done a splendid job.
The Perfect Introduction to the History of the Revolutionary Period.......2007-08-09
Bottom Line: A very enjoyable and easy read. Before taking on the huge biographies on Adams, Hamilton, Washington, and Jefferson read this book.
What You Will Learn: This book is sort of a greatest hits of revolutionary history. My favorite section is on the run-up to the duel between Hamilton and Burr - something I had read about in High School, but never with so much detail and drama. The description of the complicated relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson is also very interesting and well written.
Parting Shot: Joseph Ellis does a great job in making history exciting - this book would serve as a great gift for a young person without much previous reading in American History.
Average customer rating:
- Gienapp Let-Down
- magnificent!
- My Captain!
- Abraham Lincoln And Civil War America
- Abraham Lincoln in one slim volume.
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Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography
William E. Gienapp
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Paperback
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This Fiery Trial: The Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln
ASIN: 0195151003 |
Book Description
While the heart of the book focuses on the Civil War, Gienapp begins with a finely etched portrait of Lincoln's early life, from pioneer farm boy, to politician and lawyer in Springfield, to his stunning election as sixteenth president of the United States. We see how Lincoln grew during his years in office, how he developed a keen aptitude for military strategy and displayed enormous skill in dealing with his generals, and also how his strategy evolved from a desire to preserve the Union into one of emancipation and total war. A former backwoodsman and country lawyer, Abraham Lincoln rose to become one of America's greatest presidents. The biography offers a vivid account of Lincoln's dramatic ascension to the pinnacle of American history.
Customer Reviews:
Gienapp Let-Down.......2006-11-08
Bill Gienapp was a brilliant historian, and his work "The Origins of the Republican Party, 1852-1856" is a pillar of American political history. Unfortunately, his final work, "Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America," is a tremendous let-down. It is perhaps one of the worst examinations of Lincoln's life, and has almost nothing to do with "Civil War America." Essentially, it is an unqualified love poem to Lincoln, and strives only to prove his greatness -- there is no critical analysis at all. Lincoln is given credit for every political and military success 1861-1865 and is absolved from blame for all his mistakes. In reality, Lincoln was a complex personality and his public career was much more tumultuous than Gienapp proposes. It is disappointing that Gienapp, a man who dedicated his life to exhaustive, nearly flawless historical research would resort to such frivolous, uncritical "pop history" at the end of his tragically short life. Skip Gienapp's Lincoln and, instead, read Stephen Oates's "With Malice Toward None" or Don Fehrenbacher's "Prelude to Greatness: Lincoln in the 1850s."
magnificent!.......2006-06-27
A short, but very well biography of Lincoln. It counts only 250 pages, but it gives an excellent overwiew and superb analyse of the life of AL. The bibliography is also very interesting. One of the best books about the 16th president. A must for a Lincolnhistorian.
My Captain!.......2005-04-04
A good short, solid political biography. While Lincoln and the Civil War is its focus, by no means is this a battle history: Gettysburg is described in one paragraph.
Professor Gienapp has written a book that will introduce one to, or remind one of, the long and trying path traveled by Abraham Lincoln toward ultimate greatness.
Abraham Lincoln And Civil War America.......2002-03-23
William Gienapp's Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America answers a longstanding need for a biography of Lincoln manageable in size, accessible in style, and wise and balanced in content. Lincoln appers on every page of the book and is never lost sight of in the welter of events. He emerges from the text a real believable person, an individual and persuasive assessment of Lincoln's leadership abilities, the finest such appraisal avilable anywhere.
Abraham Lincoln in one slim volume........2002-03-10
This book is a welcome addition ot the already crowded Lincolnia bookself. The author is the presumed successor to the retired David Herbert Donald at Harvard University. Gienapp has produced a highly readable and concise version of a Lincoln biography that can be completed on a moderately long airplane trip(and it's quite portable unlike most hardcover books). While relatively short,this book is a sufficiently thorough treatment of the Civil War Lincoln. I especially enjoyed the author's analysis of the politician Lincoln who mastered his rivals, both Republican and Democrat. This a good book for either a new Lincoln /Civil War "buff" or a good refresher for a scholar of the times.
Book Description
Startling revelations from the OSS, the CIA, and the Nixon White house
Think you know everything there is to know about the OSS, the Cold War, the CIA, and Watergate? Think again. In American Spy, one of the key figures in postwar international and political espionage tells all. Former OSS and CIA operative and White House staffer E. Howard Hunt takes you into the covert designs of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon:
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His involvement in the CIA coup in Guatemala in 1954, the Bay of Pigs invasion, and more
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His work with CIA officials such as Allen Dulles and Richard Helms
His friendship with William F. Buckley Jr., whom Hunt brought into the CIA
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The amazing steps the CIA took to manipulate the media in America and abroad
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The motives behind the break-in at Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office
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Why the White House "plumbers" were formed and what they accomplished
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The truth behind Operation Gemstone, a series of planned black ops activities against Nixon's political enemies
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A minute-by-minute account of the Watergate break-in
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Previously unreleased details of the post-Watergate cover-up
Complete with documentation from audiotape transcripts, handwritten notes, and official documents, American Spy is must reading for anyone who is fascinated by real-life spy tales, high-stakes politics, and, of course, Watergate.
Customer Reviews:
I recommend this book.......2007-08-21
E. Howard Hunt was a patriot. The stories of his spy training, service in WWII in a unit that was a forerunner of today's Green Berets, subsequent career in the CIA which included playing a pivital role in overthrowing a burganing communist tyrant alone makes him the stuff of legend and this boook worth buying. He admits to having made a terrible mistake by becoming involved in the Watergate affair. But in his defence he did so partly because financial burdens brought on by his daughters long illness drove him into becoming one of the 'plumbers.' Along with the fact that Presidential elections up until that piont had long been influenced by, intelligence operatives, and even the likes of J. Edgar Hoover. As for the unfounded ,and slanderous allegation that he managed the JFK assassination, doesn't one think that if it were true, would'nt he have used that information to barter a lessor sentence for himself than the 35 years Sirica subsequently gave him?
Well-written Thriller!!!!.......2007-07-09
This book reads just like a mystery novel. It's easy to read and full of suspense, so I couldn't wait to turn the page to find out what happens. The pages on Watergate were especially suspenseful. This book was good from beginning to end. It's interesting to get the inside information on CIA training and activities from someone who was really there. Also, it was good to read about Watergate from someone who was really there and knows what happened. He also fills this book with stories about his personal life, his parents, wife and children. At the end, he offers his views on how to fix the agency today. This is a very good and easy to read book! I enjoyed every page of it.
junk.......2007-06-14
This man, even as he looked at death, could not even come close to the truth. If you buy this book call me i got a bridge for you...
mmmm just to be straight i bought this book...so don't be a sucker like.....me
a disappointing effort.......2007-05-28
I really looked forward to reading this book having been in college when Watergate grasped the nation I wanted to see how well I remembered some events. But after reading half the book I knew that much of what I was absorbing was the result of a memory even more flawed than my own. The topper came when he has President Eisenhower in office in 1950 when even a junior high schooler could tell you Eisenhower was elected in 1952 - after the Korean War. After that how reliable could the rest of the book be. Was it just a case of poor editing, or did Hunt really believe what was written? It left me questioning how much of the book was meant as an attempt to absolve himself of his crimes or justify the mistakes he made of his own free will. Is he trying to rewrite history? I just don't know, and after finishing the entire book I still am not sure if this is non-fiction or fiction.
Important And candid book........2007-05-15
There was a real snotty review of this book by the NY Times( the bastion of limosine liberalism and Oswald did it alone BS) But, anyone interested in Watergate or the JFK Assassination should read it- the reviewer doesn't have a clue more than the man in the street what Howard hunt, knew and he had a long association with the Assassination losing a lawsuit where he was 11-22-63 as shown in Mark Lane's Plausible denial. I'm not saying Hunt didn't embellish, or possibly deflate his own role,maybe threw in a couple bogus names, but the names he picks-the key ones: William Harvey, David Morales, and David Phillps all have several suspicious things about them in this regard, were all heavy drinkers and hated The Kennedys with a purple passion. There is nothing far fetched about their alleged involvement.one of the big reasons the conspiracy worked is no one in the Wash press corps could fathom it...& whatever Hoover said, or spokesman for Govt. Agencies was accepted without question in that day, thus denying a mountain of germane contrary evidence. As far as watergate- very interesting and it was horrible his wife died in the plane crash, and Hunt got 35 years from Judge Sirica!What they did was illegal, but nothing compared to what the current Administration is doing and though Hunt is hardly a shining knight, you can really see things through his eyes and his observations on notable people are just priceless and often I believe highly accurate ..In a sea of evil pathological liars that were much higher up the food chain-Hoover,Nixon, Helms, Angeton,& LBJ Hunt wasn't the epitome of malevolance as he was portrayed in the Establishment..there were people far worse...
Amazon.com
Christopher Buckley is not so much a novelist as a free-ranging satirist looking for targets. In Thank You for Smoking it was big tobacco and earnest reformers; in God Is My Broker it was business and religion; and in No Way to Treat a First Lady, it's the entire legal profession, not to mention the Washington establishment. The novel opens with the President of the United States returning to the conjugal bed after an illicit Lincoln Bedroom romp with the Streisandesque Babette Van Anka. His wife, the long-suffering Beth McMann, promptly clocks him with a Paul Revere spittoon. Several hours later he dies. "Lady Bethmac," as the First Lady is immediately dubbed by the media, is put on trial, and the resulting media circus gives Buckley lots of opportunity for nicely observed skewerings of legal culture. "Judge Dutch creaked forward in his chair. This is the source of the aura of judges: they have bigger chairs than anyone else. That and the fact that they can sentence people to sit in electrified ones. It's all about chairs." He gets in some neat neologisms--a lawyer performs a "credibilobotomy" on a witness--and sends up the pretensions of law TV: at a roundtable discussion, the guest from Harvard Law is invited "to provide gravitas and to shift uneasily in his seat when the other guests said something provocative." Buckley's Trial of the Millennium is so far-fetched that it seems entirely possible. --Claire Dederer
Book Description
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
Elizabeth Tyler MacMann, the ambitious First Lady of the United States (and known in the tabloids as “Lady Bethmac”), is on trial for the death of her philandering husband, and the only man who can save her is the boyfriend she jilted in law school—now the most shameless defense attorney in America. Published to rave reviews,
No Way to Treat a First Lady is a hilariously warped love story for our time set in the funniest place in America: Washington, D.C.
Download Description
Christopher Buckley, the bestselling author of the comic classics The White House Mess and Thank You for Smoking, returns to the funniest place in America: Washington, D.C.
Elizabeth Tyler MacMann, the First Lady of the United States, has been charged with killing her philandering husband, the President of the United States. In the midst of a bedroom spat, she allegedly hurled a historic Paul Revere spittoon at him, with tragic results. The attorney general has no choice but to put the First Lady on trial for assassination.
The media has never warmed to Beth MacMann (her nickname in the tabloids is “Lady Bethmac”), and as America girds for a scandalous, sensational trial, Beth reaches out to the only defense attorney she trusts, Boyce “Shameless” Baylor, who charges $1,000 an hour and has represented a Who’s Who of scoundrels: murderous running backs, society wife-killers, Los Alamos spies, and national-security sellouts.
Why Boyce Baylor? Because Beth loved him once, when they were law students. Boyce wanted to marry her, but Beth chose the future President instead. Now, after all these years, Boyce has a second chance. To what lengths will a shameless lawyer go to win the Trial of the Millennium and regain the love of his life?
Buckley has been described by the Los Angeles Times Book Review as “one of the best and surest political humorists in America” and by Entertainment Weekly as “a superb writer of politically incorrect satire.” No Way to Treat a First Lady is flat-out hilarious. And furthermore, it’s a love story for our time.
"Unspeakably and endlessly funny. Unless you're a former president. Wicked humorist Buckley shoots fish in a barrel and makes them dance."
KIRKUS REVIEWS
"The lurid sexual excesses of the late 90's provide plenty of comic fodder for Buckley's latest satire, which doubles as a legal thriller. The political humor is first-rate as usual, as Buckley has plenty of fun with the slimy, silly mess that is Beltway politics. This is one of his better efforts, which should keep Buckley on the 'A' list of American satirists."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Customer Reviews:
Buckley eviscerates a certain presidential power couple.......2007-09-06
This book is a riot. The ever delightful Buckley details what happens when philandering President Ken MacMann (not based on any recent presidents) dies after being hit by a silver Paul Revere spittoon thrown by edgy, lawyer First Lady Beth Tyler MacMann (bearing no resemblance to any recent first ladies) after being caught sneaking back into their White House bedroom at 2:30 a.m. from the Lincoln Bedroom, where he was building a bridge to 21st century Hollywood donations with actress, singer, activist and serial Lincoln bedroom visitor Babette Van Anka. (She's not based on any real characters, either.)
As he's found dead in the morning, his forehead bearing the reverse imprint "Revere" where the spittoon hit him, Beth MacMann is charged with assassinating her husband. She turns to the nation's top trial lawyer, Shameless Boyce, who also happens to be the fiance she dumped to marry MacMann a quarter century before in law school.
In the ensuing Trial of the Millenium. Boyce successfully chips away the government's case, until his client insists on testifying - to rehabilitate her image so that she can later run for office - and all hell breaks loose.
If you ever suffered from either Clinton or OJ fatigue (or, likely, both), you won't be able to put down this delicious satire. With the finest of literary scalpels, Buckley eviscerates politicians, TV-trial commentators, spin managers, jury analysts, Hollywood activists, preening superlawyers and mostly the once and seemingly future occupants of the White House.
Entertaining read, witty satire.......2006-09-17
Christopher Buckley's novel is an entertaining blend of satire and wit, that makes the mark the all good satire must achieve: Are the characters and the profession they represent reviled by the author, or respected for their achievements? Also, like all good satire, one can almost imagine the state of affairs depicted in this fictional novel actually occuring. Witnessing the spectacles of several trials of the century in the past few years, Buckley presents the "Trial of the Millenium", the First Lay on trial for the murder of the phialndering President.
The satirical commentary is as much about the American public as it is about the legal profession.
Funny, funny novel.......2006-08-20
Buckley really gets how Washington works, or doesn't. As a fed, I just howl with laughter. He skewers all the pompous and wrong headed people who try to run this country. Moreover, he knows how to tell a good and entertaining story.
No Way to Treat a First Lady: A Novel.......2005-08-31
Although this was entertaining in places and an very easy read it was no Carl Hiaasen. The verbal exchange between the main characters was creative but anyone with even a minor knowledge of the law would find the plot far from believeable.
Not a bad read to throw in your beach bag or take to the cabin for some easy weekend reading but thats about it.
hilarious!.......2005-04-18
No Way to Treat a First Lady is funny, witty, and smart. I'm a big fan of Christopher Buckley- he takes witty political satire and turns it into an engaging novel. I highly recommend No Way To Treat a First Lady in addition to Little Green Men and Thank You for Not Smoking.
Customer Reviews:
Nixon was a fine writer!.......2007-10-14
It was risky business for Nixon to write an autobiography for at least a couple of reasons. First, his many detractors would clearly be quick to jump on any discrepancies in the work. Second, as more and more classified information is released by the government, Nixon stood to become a well-documented liar, assuming that there were a few stretchers herein -- and Nixon would have known that such information would be forthcoming someday. Still, he had the brass to write it, and it's a darn fine book.
This autobiography is somewhat unusual in that, not only did Nixon write the book, he also wrote IN to the book, even though he, himself, may not have realized this. In other words, we can tell a LOT about Nixon just by reading between the lines of this one. We can detect when he felt adversarial about someone (the media, for example), and we get a clear feel for some of his well-known (and often well-deserved) paranoia.
Some will bluntly say that Nixon was a crook. Perhaps this is correct but he was an incredibly intelligent and complex man and many positive initiatives were achieved during his long tenure as U.S. President. Of course, he covers all these events in the book and we get a feeling of having the inside scoop for having read about them in this work. So, really, this volume is an excellent "history book" for the era that it covers (essentially, the period from Nixon's birth up through the Watergate affair).
Probably the most profound facet of "R.N." that I picked up on was that Nixon was a huge patriot. He fostered incredibly strong beliefs in manifesting his visions for a great America -- of course, his facilitation of some of those ideas is what got him into trouble.
Nixon remained necessarily vague in certain details of the Watergate scandal and a few cracks in his story have already emerged as a direct result of Privacy Act releases. No doubt, a few more will be forthcoming. But honestly, many of these "events" are simply a matter of perspective, Nixon's paradign versus that of his enemies. In these cases, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
I most enjoyed reading about Nixon and his family as he grew up which is a large portion of the book. Nixon was a hard worker and, frankly, I admire his achievement of becoming President, since he was one of the few who made this life-leap, absent a silver spoon.
I read MANY books (3 a week for years) and "R.N." is one of the top 20 books I've ever read and it's in the top 5 of my non-fiction list. Don't be put off by politics in this instance -- this tome of an autobiography is a real page-turner and well-done.
I think.........2007-02-16
what this man did was wrong in terms of his involvement and his support of bullying in the whitehouse. This man was seen as one of the most liberal presidents and founded the Environmental Protection agengy as well as food stamps and strove to implement far reaching welfare reforms. He did many things we equivocate with democratic setbacks, and we have to wonder how much the nation suffered. He tried to protect himself under the presidency: Was he attacked? The FBI tried to sheild us from this man, and we have to wonder where the balance lies. Surely this man did great things perhaps as no president has done after him for social reform. Much to ponder. In later years, he confessed to wrongdoing and advised several presidents without want of attention or credit.I tend to like Mr. Nixon, but tend also to grieve his past actions against the war demonstrators in terms of actions he could not implement as he did not have the support of the FBI. The problem was the wire tapping of journalists, and the breaking into a psychiatrists office to try to get info on one of the journalists who oppose Nixon. Yes,much to think about. Am I bothered by racial remarks he's made on tape when he tried to institute the largest welfare program since FDR saved us from the depression? Save for perhaps Kennedy..No. I think his actions counterbalance the remarks he's made. The wiretapping and the break in are his shame, more so the wiretapping as I'm not sure about the extent of the involvement he had in that. I enjoy Mr. Nixon's attempt to guide the nation via advice of succeeding presidents and look forward to reading thE progressive social policy that's in his seven books.
Slice of history from a man who shaped it.......2007-02-02
It's always a wondrous experience delving into the lives of American presidents. By now, the trends seem consistent with each other in several respects: the humble beginnings in a kindly rural area (for Nixon, it was a Puritan home in southern California), the warm anecdotes growing up, life in higher education, early political careers and relationships, and finally the culmination of the presidency. It is a terrific journey for the reader that Nixon led an eventful and important life (the Alger Hiss case, his foreign policy, Vietnam, Watergate, etc). Obviously, Nixon's presidency occurred much before my time, so it is worthwhile to gain insight from a perspective that I will double-back on after pouring through, I am sure, the hundreds of material analyzing Nixon's life.
This hefty tome is not only a warm autobiography, but it is also an insider's account into the astounding 20th century. Nixon shaped the century's most crucial events, such as Vietnam and the Soviet threat, which the memoir documents with appreciative detail. Occasionally, of course, the author slips in an expected self-justification for some wrongdoing that occurred, while sometimes barely addressing others (I found it humorous, about one Nixon tale, how he broke into a college professor's office to peek at his exam results; needless to say it's not here).
This is all standard recounting of important life events from a president, but it stands out for being written by a monumental figure that will forever be tied to political life and, more importantly, to political scandal.
History by the man who caused history.......2006-02-06
I read it twenty-five years ago and just read it again. Fast paced until he gets bogged down in justifying his actions in Watergate. Nixon was an excellent writer, but his self-justification requires you to read other bios of the 37th President. From Jerry Vorhis to Alger Hiss to John Dean, a great take on postwar American history by someone who was there.
RN - A Deeply Flawed, Great Man. Fascinating. .......2005-08-08
Nixon became president the month I was born and had left the scene before I became politically aware. Nobody spoke of him during the 70's, or of Johnson for that matter - they belonged to a past era which nobody much wanted to revisit, and so I knew very little about either of them as a kid or teen.
By resigning Nixon had admitted at least some guilt in the vast number of things he was accused of and his abdication was a political cataclysm. Through my childhood years he lived out his old age as a pariah off in San Clemente, California, the personification of the period of enormous turbulence during the height of the Vietnam war. He was the living embodiment of the dark heart and excess of the GOP, and everyone, especially in Democratic Massachusetts, considered him a cancer on the body politic and was happy he was gone.
But his resignation was sincere and he was mostly contrite. In retirement he was a sad old giant in exile and after a while the Press which had hounded him out of office allowed him some dignity as an elder statesman and left him alone.
He's nothing like the caricature I expected. I have to say - I really like him. He's very thoughtful, well spoken, modest, with good intentions towards the country and had a warm, respectful dialogue with the major statesmen and characters of the day.
It's a beautifully written book. It was easy to see how he had become a leader. He had the air of solid, calm composure and reasonableness which I admire. As for doublespeak tendencies, the clues are missing for someone who didn't live through that time period.
The contrast with Bush could not be more clear. Maybe the candor came from Nixon's retirement, but I can't imagine Bush being this straight and honest with his audience. POTUS 43 isn't smart or eloquent enough to write this kind of book, and he's too secretive to make that leap of trust with the little people to allow them into his mind.
Of course Nixon was at least as bad as Bush - he was famous for having a blind-spot as big as a barn, which one can see in his writing. Despite the resignation, he wasn't entirely remorseful - he saw himself as the victim of many media conspiracies and other antagonists, both real and imagined. But Nixon has the breadth of worldview and honesty with himself, and by extension the reader, to allow us into his world.
His dark tendencies had other origins. In an era when 30 soldiers were being killed in Vietnam every single day - over ten times the volume of Iraq - and the world convulsing in protest and chaos around them, Nixon's lieutenants and were just brutalized by their environment and lost their sense of direction and fought back with every realpolotik' weapon and dirty trick they could imagine.
Nixon himself is much too close to the action to see how complicit he was - and as the leader he was de-facto fully culpable. But he did take responsibility resign over it - so if it is noble to forgive, then he deserves some rest.
My folks on the other hand strongly disliked Nixon because they thought the GOP machine had sabotaged all the moderate Democratic primary candidates, leaving only Muskie and worse, McGovern, who were far too weak and radical. So he had effectively dismantled the American democratic process - even aside from the Watergate bugging and coverup. Nixon's Southern Strategy of making the GOP a safe place for whites upset by the Civil Rights movement, is still the dominant fault-line in American politics.
Now, after the cancer has been lanced and we have survived him, Nixon's transgressions feel like water long past under the bridge. I'm only sad and sorry that he passed away. He was a wise, complex man and this book shows that his shadow is still very large.
Amazon.com
By now the whory notion of doing a tell-all book about your boss, the President, is a hoary one too. (It dates back to Ike, who got the treatment from one of his doctors.) But with this book, the Clinton administration breaks new ground by being on the receiving end of a kiss-and-sell from a member of the White House security staff. Aldrich was an FBI agent assigned to the White House under both Bush and Clinton who, as this book makes clear, didn't think the changeover was progress. He mostly fixes on anthropological differences: the Bush staffers were neat and straight, the Clintonites were sloppy and had kinky work- shift sex a stone's throw from the Oval Office. Who knows if it's true? Who knows if Aldrich was debating between this and other more devastating forms of revenge available to a presidential guard?
Book Description
#1 New York Times Bestseller.
Customer Reviews:
A must read...........2007-10-17
This book should be a must read at every high school in the country. What they did in our White House is a crime. It made my blood pressure hit the ceiling and confirmed my opinion of the Clinton administration.
AN EYE OPENER (and certainly a book you need to read).......2007-10-14
This book by retired F.B.I. agent Gary Aldrich is a few years old now, but still very timely, and especially so in view of the extremely high likelihood that Hillary Rodham [a/k/a Hillary Clinton] is going to be the 2008 Democrat nominee for the US Presidency. Aldrich was a career F.B.I. agent nearing the end of his career when t
At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA
The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives
Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power
Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone (Vintage)
Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present
