Nixon: A Life

Rating:
Summary: At last, some balance
Review: As both a non-American and one too young to remember Watergate, I read this book with little of the baggage that I suspect many Americans bring to their assessment of Nixon. What emerges is an insight into arguably the most significant post-War politician in the world - someone who did more to shape the world in its journey from 1945 to 2000 than any other.

Aitken's own fall from grace as a British politician including his criminal convictions make me suspect a particularly strong empathy with Nixon. I couldn't avoid the sense that Nixon's faults were somewhat glossed over by Aitken, but even so the text provided some real balance to the seemingly unethical approach adopted by the press and Democrats to the man when he was President.

Also interesting to compare Aitken's analysis of Nixon in the 1960 presidential election with the subsequent actions of Gore in the 2000 election. Nixon's magnaminity at that time enabled a comeback - Gore has probably blown his chances of the same.

Not touched on by the book but certainly an issue is the constitutional issues surrounding the growing propensity for Congress to impeach Presidents (Nixon and Clinton) when controlled by the other party. According to the book the Democrat congress would have impeached Johnson also, if he had been Republican. America's union of the Head of state and Head of Govt in one position is increasingly fraught. This book may provide an insight into why most (all?) other democracies separate their head of Govt (Prime Minister) from their head of state (Monarch/President).

A great insight into a complex and influential man.

Rating:
Summary: Best Biography on Nixon
Review: Finally, an actual scholarly account of Nixon. There are plenty of fictitous and demeaning books on Nixon (Anthony Summers and Stanley Kutler) but it is good to know that there are people like Aitken who try to look at Nixon in the context of his times. Anyone who seriously wants to study the character of Nixon should read Aitken's work and go and listen to the Watergate tapes in Maryland and avoid Kutler's selective editing of conversations. In the end, I believe the student will actually understand what an honorable, hardworking, and brilliant man Nixon was. Also, I reccomend reading Nixon's own books and reading Monica Crowley's works to get an insight into Nixon's personal life. Here you have a man who worked his way through college at Whitier and Duke, served in the Navy, never cheated on his wife, and served his country as commander-in-chief in one of the most turbulent decades of the 20th Century. If you want to understand Nixon, read valid sources, and don't rely on half-truths or assumptions of journalists, biased babyboomers, and politically driven revisionists. After all, some historians believe Nixon was actually a liberal and was about to break the tw0-party system.

Rating:
Summary: This book by Aitken was really excellent - hard to put down
Review: I couldn't recommend this book highly enough if you are interested in Richard Nixon's story/life. Aitken writes in a very entertaining manner and has obviously had access to Nixon that other writers may not have enjoyed. From my perspective as an Australian looking into American politics and history the book was well worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: A pretty good perspective
Review: Nixon lovers won't enjoy this book, as the book does not at all apologize or try to legitimize Nixon's fall from grace. Two central comments about the book:

1. Aiken gives short shrift for what readers are probably thirsting for: the time leading up to resignation and Nixon's resignation itself. There aren't nearly enough pages about this in an otherwise good effort by Aiken.

2. The book did not strike me as tremendously biased, and perhaps this is because Aiken is not an American, but British, so perhaps he doesn't have the passion and partisanship that colors many books on our most enigmatic of presidents.

For an excellent, in-depth account of Nixon's final two years in the White House, I would highly recommend Richard Reeves' "Richard Nixon: Alone in the White House." (I have reviewed that book as well.)

Aiken's account is a good overall read on Nixon, but it is by no means exhaustive. I'd recommend it as a good inclusion on a list of books to gain a good overall perspective on Nixon.

Rating:
Summary: A Fair Profile of an Amazing But Flawed American
Review: Richard Nixon will forever be associated with Watergate, but as Jonathan Aitken shows us, there was so much more to his life. Throughout this thoroughly researched study of the most villified American President in modern history, Aitken shows that view only scratches the surface of the real Richard Nixon. Aitken takes the reader through RN's modest upbringing in rural California, to his noble service in WWII, up to the Checkers speech, through the historic Kitchen Debate, and to his amazing politcal comeback in 68'. Aitken makes the reader feel as if they were there, backing up his writing with irrefutable evidence, experiencing these amazing events in person. The author's account of RN's historic trip to China, which brought about the normalization of relations, is worth the price alone. The back-channeling required and near disasters are riveting. These revelations only confirm the enormous part RN played in ending the Vietnam War as well as the Cold War. No Nixon book could be complete without addressing Watergate. Aitken, with his unequaled research, provides new insight as to who was responsible for what. Did Nixon give any orders? Who is Deepthroat? Did the plumbers go further than they'd been authorized? What about the missing minutes on the tapes? All these questions are answered in the fairest way, with thorough supportive evidence. If you're looking for an insight into one of the most infamous presidents in American history, this book is for you. Whatever your preconcieved notions are, you'll have to agree that this is the most unbiased book ever published about the 37th President of The United States Richard Milhous Nixon.